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http://www.archive.org/details/historyofnorwegiOOnorl 


HISTORY 

OF  THE 


NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE 
IN  AMERICA 


BY 


OLAF  MORGAN  NORLIE 

PROFESSOR  OF  PSYCHOLOGY, 
LUTHER  COLLEGE,  DECORA H,  IOWA 


'AMERICANS  ALL" 


MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN. 

AUGSBURG  PUBLISHING  HOUSE 
1  9  2-  5 


Copyrighted  192J,  by 
AUGSBURG  PUBLISHING  HOUSE 

MINNEAPOLIS    MINN. 


Printed    in    U.    S.    A. 


V 


/v  I   I  >~ 


AMERICA,  MY  COUNTRY 

THE  NEW  NATIONAL  ANTHEM 


1.  A -mer-i-ca,  my  coun-try,  I  come  at  thy  call,    I  plighl  thee  my  troth  and  I  give  thee  my  all;     In 

2.  A  -  mer-i-ca,  my  coun-try ,  brate  tool?  gare  thee  birth.They  yearned  for  a  ha  -  ven  of  f  ree-dom  on  earth ;  And 

3.  A  -  mer-i-ca,  my  coun-try, now ccme  is  thy  hour,-  The  Lord  of  hosts  counts  oo  thy  courage  and  pow'r;  Ha- 


St 


^'J    IJ^P^^^^JJ^  ;,| 


peace  or  in  war  I  am  wed  to  thy  weal —  I'll  car  -  ry  thy  flag  thru  the  fire  and  the  steel.  Un- 
when  thy  proud  flag  to  the  winds  was  un-furled,  There  came  to  thy  shores  the  oppressed  of  the  world.  Thy 
man  -  i  -  ty  pleads  for  the  strength  of  thy  hand,  Lest     lib  -  er  -  ty  per  -  ish  on  sea  and  on  land.  Thou 


fe^H  J'Jlr  nlFT—ErfV^  jjiJ^^ 


'P  6ul  -  lied  it  floats  o'er  our  peace-loving  race,    On  sea  nor  on  land  shall  it  auf  -  fer  dis-grace;    In 
milk  and  thy  hon  -  ey  flow  free-  ly  for  all—  Who  takes  of  thy  boun-ty  shall  come  at  thy  call;     Who 
guard-ian  of  f  ree-dom,  thou  keep-er  of  right.  When  lib  -  er-ty  bleeds  we  may  trust  in  thy  might;   Di- 
re//. -  c  •  cresc.        ^     a  tempo. 


mi  J'.j»j  ju^r^j'jijpcjT^^^i 


rev-'rence  I  kneel  at  sweet  lib  -  er-ty's  shrine:  A-mer-  i  -  ca,  my  coun-try,  com-mand,  I  am  thine, 
quaffs  of  thy  rec- tar  of  f ree-dom  shall'say:  A-mcr-i  -  ca, my  coun-try, com-mand,  I  o  -  bey. 
vine  right  of  kings  or  our  f  ree-dom  must  fall— A-ner-  i  -  ca,  my  country,  I       come  at  thy  call. 


* 


^NiN^?7^l%^a 


A  -  mer  -  i  -  ca,  my  coun-try,  I    an-ower  thy  call,  That  freedom  may  live  and  that  tyrants  may  fall;  I 


owe  thee  my  all,  and  my  all    will  I  give —  I    do    and   I    die  that  A-mer- i  -  ca  may  live 


m 


4=^ 


te^fesigii 


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cresc.  f         a  tc\mpo. 


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Conright  1017  by  Rtd  Wing  Daily  Rtpublican,  Rtd  H'int.  Minn. 

(By    Jens    K.    Grondahl,    editor,    born    in    Norway). 


TO  NORWAY 

Thou  land  of  our  sires,  where  the  northlight  is  gleaming 

In  frostbitten,  quivering  ray,— 

And  yet  where  the  balmiest  sunshine  is  beaming 

Its  glories  by  night  and  by  day, — 

Where  mermaid  and  n0ck  in  the  billows  are  dreaming 

Or  charmingly  chanting  their  lay, — 

Old  Norway,  thou  mother  of  song, 

Our  tenderest  mother  so  long, — ■ 

Some  never  have   met  you, 

Yet  cannot  forget  you, 

And  therefore  they  greet  you  in  song ! 

In  song,  in  song,  in  heartiest  song, 

We  greet  mother  Norway  in  song ! 

Thou  land  that  with  continents  bravely  art  vying 

In  all  that  is  noblest  and  best, — 

Whose  banner  of  freedom  as  proudly  is  flying 

As  that  of  the  Queen  of  the  West — 

Thou  land  where  our  fathers  and  mothers  are  lying 

In   slumbering  grave-yards  at   rest, — 

Old  Norway, — in  right  or  in  wrong — 

You  were  our  dear  mother  so  long; 

Some  here  never  met  you, 

Yet  cannot  forget  you, 

And  therefore  they  greet  you  in  song! 

In  song,   in  song,   American   song, 

We  greet  mother  Norway  in  song ! 

(By    Knut    Martin    0.    Teigen,    M.D.,    Ph.D.,    born    in    America). 


PREFACE 

At  the  Second  General  Convention  of  the  Norwegian  Luther- 
an Church  of  America  held  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  June  8-15, 
1923,  a  resolution  was  adopted  providing  for  the  proper  cele- 
bration of  the  centennial  of  the  sailing  of  the  sloop,  "Restaura- 
tionen,"  from  Stavanger,  Norway,  July  the  Fourth,  1925,  with 
fifty-two  emigrants  on  board,  constituting  the  first  contingent 
of  the  nineteenth  century  emigrations  to  America.  The  President, 
the  Right  Rev.  H.  G.  Stub,  D.  D.,  was  authorized  to  appoint  a 
committee  of  five  members  to  make  arrangements  for  the  cen- 
tennial celebration  to  be  held  in  the  summer  of  1925.  The  Pres- 
ident appointed  the  following  Centennial  Committee :  Rev.  George 
Taylor  Rygh,  Chairman;  Rev.  R.  Malmin,  Secretary;  Rev.  C.  S. 
B.  Hoel,  Treasurer;  Rev.  O.  S.  Reigstad,  Professor  G.  M. 
Bruce. 

The  Committee  was  given  three  definite  instructions,  as  fol- 
lows :  (a)  to  make  provision  for  the  universal  and  simultaneous 
celebration  of  the  centennial  in  all  the  parishes  of  the  Church 
throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada;  (b)  to  secure  the 
production  of  a  centennial  cantata;  (c)  to  provide  for  the  pub- 
lication of  a  scholarly,  comprehensive  and  authoritative  history 
of  the  Norwegian  people  in  America.  The  present  volume  by 
Professor  O.  M.  Norlie  is  the  result  of  the  effort  of  the  Com- 
mittee to  meet  the  third  item  in  its  instructions. 

Dr.  Norlie  is  a  prolific  author,  having  a  large  number  of 
books,  pamphlets  and  brochures  to  his  credit.  He  is  well  known 
as  a  Church  statistician  and  as  an  authority  on  data  connected 
with  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America.  Among  the  numerous 
degrees  conferred  upon  him  by  various  institutions  of  learning 
may  be  mentioned  the  following:  Ph.D.,  Pd.D.,  S.T.D.,  Litt.D. 
Dr.  Norlie  is  as  modest  and  unassuming  as  he  is  scholarly  and 
studious.  A  few  of  his  best  known  works  are:  The  Open  Bible, 
Elementary  Christian  Psychology,  Principles  of  Expressive 
Reading,  The  School  Calendar,  1824-1924.  The  present  His- 
tory is  the  product  of  a  lifetime  of  research,  giving  ample 
evidence  cf  the  author's  untiring  energy  and  painstaking 
accuracy.  It  will  prove  a  mine  of  information,  from  which 
future  historians  of  America  will  produce  many  nuggets  of  his- 
toric worth.  His  elucidation  of  the  discovery  of  America  by  the 
Norsemen  is  quite  enough  to  determine  the  opening  chapters  of 
any  future  history  of  our  country  worthy  of  the  name. 


6  Norwegian  People   in  America 

Dr.  Norlie  has  for  all  time  fixed  the  place  of  the  Norwegian 
element  in  the  making  of  the  American  nation,  than  which  no 
other  component  holds  a  worthier  place.  For  good  citizenship, 
industry,  thrift,  enlightenment,  and  character,  the  Norwegian 
element  ranks  second  to  none,  and  this  History  is  the  demonstra- 
tion of  that  fact.  In  peace  and  war,  the  American  of  Norwegian 
ancestry  knows  but  one  loyalty,  loyalty  to  the  principles  and  ideals 
of  America. 

The  Church  Committee  is  proud  to  have  had  some  little  share 
in  the  production  of  this  History  by  Dr.  Norlie.  It  desires,  how- 
ever, to  make  clear  that  the  volume  is  the  sole  work  of  the  author 
whose  name  is  attached  to  it.  We  believe  that  it  will  prove  a  not- 
able contribution  to  the  history  of  our  beloved  country. 

The  Centennial  Committee  of  the  Norwegian 
Lutheran  Church  of  America. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

The  author  is  under  great  obligations  to  a  great  number 
of  people  who  have  aided  him  in  making  this  book  and  wishes 
hereby  to  express  to  them  his  sincere  thanks  : 

1.  The   Centennial   Committee. 

2.  President  Calvin  Coolidge,  Governor  General  Lord  Byng 
and  Kinjg  Haakon  VII,  who  sent  greetings  to  the  Norse- 
Americans  in  honor  of  their  Centennial. 

3.  T.  T.  Colwick,  Norse,  Texas;  Jacob  Olson,  Clifton, 
Texas ;  Ivan  Doseff ,  artist,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  for  making  the 
crayon  drawing  of  Cleng  Peerson,  said  to  be  the  only  por- 
trait of  Clerijg  ever  made. 

4.  The  Sloopers,  especially  Georgiana  Larson,  Rochester, 
N.  Y. ;  Inger  M.  Johnson,  Detroit,  Mich. ;  John  L.  Atwater, 
Jane  Sara  Atwater  and  Mabel  Truesdell,  Chicago,  111. ;  Caro- 
line C.  Bower,  Sheridan,  111. ;  Daniel  Rosdail  and  Emily  Fru- 
land,  Norway,  111. ;  Jacob  Rosdail,  Sr.,  Norway,  Iowa ;  B.  F. 
Stangland,  Morton,  N.  Y. ;  Mettie  Larson  and  Malinda  Larson, 
Marseilles,  111. ;  and  Emily  Jane  Raymond,  Hollywood,  Cal., 
for  important  information,  photographs,  books  and  relics  from 
the  Sloop.  Also  Mrs.  Anna  D.  Parker,  Kendall,  N.  Y.,  and 
Lieut.  Joseph  M.  Johnson,  relatives  of  Ole  Johnson;  Capt. 
Louis  Larson,  Chicago,  relative  of  Lars  Larson  ;  Rev.  Helmer 
T.  Haagenson,  Seneca,  111.,  Fox  River  pastor,  who  helped  to 
catalog  the  Sloopers. 

5.  Dr.  Oscar  L.  Olson,  president  of  Luther  College,  De- 
corah,  la.;  Edith  Hexom,  artist,  Decorah ;  Prof.  J.  J.  Sk0r- 
dalsvold,  proofreader,  Minneapolis ;  A.  M.  Sundheim,  pub- 
lisher, Minneapolis ;  Hon.  G.  N.  Haugen,  congressman,  North- 
wood,  la. ;  Hon.  O.  J.  Kvale,  congressman,  Benson,  Minn. ; 
Hon.  H.  H.  Bryn,  minister  from  Norway,  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
Dr.  E.  A.  Ross,  author  of  "The  Old  World  in  the  New/' 
Madison,  Wis. ;  The  Century  Co.,  publishers  of  Ross'  book, 
New  York ;  John  Anderson  Pub.  Co.,  Chicago ;  B.  Anundsen 
Pub.  Co.,  Decorah ;  Normanden  Pub.  Co.,  Grand  Forks,  N. 
Dak. ;  United  States  Census  Bureau ;  Rev.  J.  M.  Hestenes  and 
Mrs.  Ellen  Runden,  Waterford,  Wis. ;  American  Scandinavian 
Foundation  and  Henry  Holt,  New  York;  G.  B.  Joergensen, 
Stanwood,  Wash. ;  J.  S.  Illeck,  Harrisburg,  Pa. ;  R.  H.  Coats, 
Ottawa,  Can. ;  B.  I.  Jenson,  Toano,  Va. ;  Th.  Johannesen, 
Portland,  Ore. ;  Wm.  H.  E.  Ludwig,  Springdale,  Ark. ;  Cora 
Bangerter,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.;  Dr.  Knut  Gjerset,  Decorah,  la.; 
all  of  whom  have  assisted  in  various  ways. 

6.  A  long  list  of  others,  including  presidents  of  institutions 
and  associations,   secretaries,  authors,  editors  and  publishers. 

O.  M.  Norlie. 


THE   WHITE    HOUSE 

WASHINGTON 


December  23,  1924.. 


My  dear  Mr.  Norlie: 

Honorable  Gilbert  N.  Haugen  has  been  good  enough 
to  hand  mo  your  letter  regarding  the  centennial  observ- 
ance, which  is  to  be  held  in  1925, .by  the  American 
community  of  Norwegian  descent  in  celebration  of  a  century 
of  Norwegian  immigration  to  this  country. 

It  was  particularly  pleasing  to  learn  that  an 
adequate  history  of  Norwegian  people  and  their  deecen- 
dants  in  this  country  is  being  prepared,  for  it  will  be 
of  great  interest  and  value,  illuminating  one  of  the 
important  phases  of  the  national  development.   The 
Norwegians  who  have  in  such  great  numbers  caet  in  their 
lot  with  our  country  have  represented  one  of  the  most 
important  elements  in  the  national  community.  Springing 
from  the  race  which  made  the  first  conquest  of  the 
unknown  Atlantic,  they  have  borne  a  great  part  in  the 
settlement  and  growth  of  many  among  the  states  in  the 
union.   By  habit  and  tradition  as  lovers  of  freedom, 
they  have  been  readily  assimilated  into  the  body  of 
American  citizenry,  because  they  have  so  fully  under- 
stood and  sympathized  with  our  institutions  of  liberty 
and  equal  opportunity.   They  have  given  generously  to 
every  department  of  national  advancement,  and  I  am 
gratified  to  know  that  a  fitting  observance  of  this 
centennial  year  is  to  be  held» 

Very  truly  yours, 


Mr.  0.  M.  Norlie, 
Decorah, 
Iowa. 


CALVIN   COOLIDGE 
President  of  the  United  States 


Government  House 
Ottawa 


In  connection  with  the  celebration  of  the 
Boree-American  Centennial  in  June  next,  I  desire  to 
send  my  personal  greetings  to  all  the  Norwegian  people 
who  have  settled  and  are  living  in  the  Dominion  of 
Canada. 

I  heartily  wish  them  continued  prosperity  and 
success. 


^^k'  <f/a**J< 


a. 


LORD    BYNG   OF   VIMY 

G.   C.   B.,   G.   C.   M.   G.,   M.   V.   O.,    Governor   General   and    Commander 

in  Chief  of  the  Dominion   of  Canada 


^> 


HAAKON  VII 
King  of  Norway 


"  'Mong  the  rocks  by  the  North  Sea's  blue  waters" 

Chapter  I 
THE  NORWEGIANS 

1.    The  Home  Land 
Norway  has  been  the  homeland  of  the  Norwegians   for  two 
thousand  years  or  more.    It  is  a  wonderful  little  land,  beautiful 
and  beloved,  illustrious  in  story  and   song. 

Norway  forms  the  northwestern  part  of  the  Scandinavian 
peninsula.    It  lies  as   far  north  as   Labrador  and  Greenland,  as 

Alaska  and  Siberia.  It  extends  from  57°  59' 
Location  N.   Lat.    (at   Mandal)    to   71°11'   N.   Lat.    (at 

North  Cape),  a  difference  in  latitude  of 
over  13  degrees,  equal  to  that  between  San  Diego  and  Seattle, 
between  New  Orleans  and  Decorah,  between  Palm  Beach  and 
New  York. 

East  and  west,  the  country  extends  from  4°  30'  E.  Long,  (at 
Utvser,  in  Sognefjord)  to  31°11'  E.  Long,  (at  Norno,  near  Vardo). 

The  area  is  only  124,495  sq.  miles.  Norway  is,  then,  three- 
fourths  the  size  of  Sweden  and  eight  times  that  of  Denmark.  It 
is  a  trifle  larger  than  the  British  Isles,  but 
Size  and  Shape  the   British    Isles   have    18   times   as    large   a 

population.  Norway  is  twice  as  large  as  New 
England,  one-half  as  large  as  Texas.  It  is  nearly  as  large  as  Min- 
nesota and  Iowa  combined,  but  has  less  than  one-half  the  popu- 
lation of  these  two  states. 

Its  length  from  Lindesnes  to  Vardo  is  1100  miles  in  a  straight 
line,  but  along  the  coast  round  the  outer  belt  of  rocks  the  distance 
is  1700  miles.     The  entire  shore  line,  including  the  fjords  in  and 


16 


Nerwegian  People  in  America 


Relative  Size  and  Position  of  Norway  (if  moved  1200  farther  west) 


out,  is  12,000  miles,  a  line  that  would  stretch  half  way  around  the 
globe. 

Its  width  in  the  south  is  about  250  miles;  in  the  north,  60 
miles,  often  less.  At  Rombaken,  at  the  head  of  Vestf  jorden,  the 
width  is  only  five  miles. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Norway,  as  a  whole,  is  a  long,  narrow 
coast-country  on  the  North  Atlantic.  It  looks  on  the  map  like  a 
big  bag  slung  over  the  shoulders  of  Sweden.  It  is  fringed  along 
the  coast  by  countless  rocky  islands  that  resemble  a  vast  flock 
of  sea  birds  flitting  along  the  shore. 


Norway  is  a  land  of  mountains,  with  majestic,  snow-covered 
tops   rising  6,000  to  8,000  feet   in  places.    Its  glaciers   are   the 
largest   in    Europe.    Jostedalsbrae,    for   exam- 
Surface  ple,    is   330  sq.   miles    in    extent,    while    the 

mightiest  glaciers  of  Switzerland  are  only 
20  sq.  miles.  The  mountains  of  Norway  comprise  65  per  cent  of 
the  whole  land.     Another  21  per  cent  is  occupied  by  heavy  for- 


The  Norwegians  17 

ests,  and  4  per  cent  is  occupied  by  marshland  and  lakes.  Hence, 
only  10  per  cent  of  the  land  is  habitable;  only  3  per  cent  is 
arable;  only  1  per  cent  is  tilled. 

It  might  seem  that  nothing  would  grow  and  nobody  would  care 
to  live  in  a  land  so  far  north.     But  such  is  not  the  case.     The 

climate,  indeed,  is  bracing,  but  not  impossi- 
Climate  ble.    In  the  same  latitude  in  which  Franklin, 

the  explorer,  lost  his  life  in  the  Arctic 
regions  of  America,  and  in  which  lies  the  inhospitable  plains  of 
frozen  Siberia,  the  waters  of  the  fjords  of  Norway  never  freeze 
except  at  their  upper  ends.  "One  would  expect,"  says  John  L. 
Stoddard,  "the  climate  of  Norway  to  be  that  of  Greenland;  but 
Nature  saves  it,  as  a  habitation  for  the  race,  by  sending  thither  the 
mysterious  Gulf  Stream,  which  crosses  the  Atlantic  for  5,000 
miles,  and,  although  far  spent  on  that  distant  shore,  fulfills  its 
mission,  transforming,  by  its  warm  breath,  an  otherwise  barren 
region  to  a  fertile  land." 

The  mean  temperature  of  Norway,  therefore,  is  somewhat  like 
that  of  the  northern  half  of  the  United  States  and  the  southern 
provinces     of     Canada,    and    the    vegetation 
Vegetation  0f  Norway  is  rich  for  so  northern  a  region. 

The  Norway  pine,  cited  by  Milton  in  his 
"Paradise  Lost,"  is  the  most  common  forest  tree.  Oaks,  birches, 
elms,  beeches,  and  other  trees  also  abound  in  places.  The  apple 
tree,  the  plum  and  the  cherry  occur  far  north  of  Trondhjem,  while 
currants,  marsh  berries,  gooseberries  and  strawberries  thrive  as  far 
north  as  the  North  Cape.  Wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats  and  potatoes 
are  successfully  cultivated  in  the  lower  valleys.  It  is  a  cur- 
ious fact  that  barley  takes  the  same  time  (90  days)  to  ripen  at  Al- 
ten  (70°  N.  Lat.)  as  at  Oslo  (60°)  and  in  southern  France 
(45°).  The  reason  for  this  is,  that  the  summer  days  are  so  much 
longer  farther  north.  At  Alten  the  sun  does  not  set  at  all  during 
the  summer  months.     Norway  is  the  Land  of  the  Midnight  Sun. 

Although  only  3  per  cent  of  the  land  can  at  present  be  cul- 
tivated, farming  is,  nevertheless,  the  chief  occupation  of  the  people, 

nearly  one-half  of  the  population  (48.65  per 
Other  Resources         cent)     being  dependent   upon  agriculture   for 

their  support.  The  land  is  rich  also  in 
other  resources.  There  are  rich  mineral  deposits  in  the  mountains 
and  unlimited  power  in  the  many  mountain  streams  and  water- 
falls. God  has  richly  provided  the  land  with  the  necessities  of  life. 
He  never  forgets  anything.  He  remembers  the  lilies  of  the  field 
and  notes  the  sparrow's  fall.  He  has  given  the  Norwegians  houses 
and  homes,  food  and  fuel  aplenty.     The  forests   furnish  timber 


18  Nonvegian  People  in  America 

for  home-building  and  ship-building  and  wood  for  fuel.  There 
are  peat  bogs  providing  fuel,  and  coal  is  mined  in  Svalbard  (Spitz- 
bergen  before  1925).  The  great  fishing  banks,  particularly  at 
Lofoten,  annually  yield  millions  of  pounds  of  cod  fish,  herring, 
lobsters  and  seal.  The  maritime  trade  dates  back  to  the  piratical 
Vikings,  and  the  commercial  fleet  of  Norway  today  in  absolute 
tonnage  ranks  next  to  those  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  and  in  relative  tonnage  (per  capita)  is  far  in  the  lead  of  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Why   should  not   Norwegians  everywhere  love   Norway?     It 
is  a  land  of  marvellous  beauty,  rivalling  Switzerland  as  the  sum- 
mer   resort    of    Europe    and    the    playground 
Natural  Scenery          0f  the  world.    Travelers  never  tire  of  sound- 
ing its  praises.     J.   B.   Putnam,   for   instance, 
writes :     "A  traveler  may  here  find  the  grandest  of  snow-covered 
mountains,  from  which  tumble  innumerable  waterfalls  of  striking 
beauty,  the  most  charming  stretches  of  fjords  or  inland  seas,  the 
wildest  and  most  desolate  of  fields,  a  wealth  of  color  which  in  its 
intense  brilliancy  can  scarcely  be  matched  in  any  other  part  of 
the  world,  and  a   kindly-hearted   and   supremely  honest   people." 
No  one  has  perhaps  more  fully  appreciated  the  grandeur  of 
Norway  and  its  people  than  the  poets,  and  their  verses  outlive 
the  bravest  deeds  of  men.    Listen  a  moment  to  Ole  Vig  when  he 
tunes  his  harp  and  sings : 

Of   all  the   lands  in  the   East   or   West 
I    love   my    own   native    land   the   best ; 
Its   rocky  towers 
And   leafy  bowers 
My  heart  arrest. 

Alone  in  Norseland  spite  darkness  'tis 
That   sunlight   reaches  its  highest  bliss. 
There  eve  reposes 
'Mong  dawn's   red   roses, 
And  gets  a  kiss. 

We  therefore  join  sympathetically  with  BjoYnson  in  his  pa- 
triotic hymn: 

Yes,  we   love  with   fond   devotion 

Norway's  mountain  domes, 

Rising  storm-lashed  o'er  the  ocean, 

With  their  thousand  homes ; 

Love   our  country  while  we're   bending 

Thoughts  to   fathers  grand, 

And  to  saga-night  that's  sending 

Dreams    upon    our  land. 


The  Norwegians  19 

2.  The  People 
By  far  the  greater  part  (98.5  per  cent)  of  the  population  of 
Norway  is  of  Teutonic,  or  Germanic,  origin.  The  remainder 
(1.5%)  consists  mainly  of  Lapps  and  Finns.  How  long  the  Nor- 
wegians have  lived  in  Norway  it  is  impossible  to  say  with  any  cer- 
tainty. The  history  of  Norway  stretches  back  only  about  1100 
years — to  800  A.  D.  Previous  to  that  date,  in  the  prehistoric 
era,  the  Scandinavian  North  is  at  times  given  a  passing  notice 
by  the  historians  and  geographers  of  Greece  and  Rome.  The 
earliest  mention  of  Norway  is  perhaps  that  of  Pythias,  an  enter- 
prising Greek  explorer,  who  visited  the  land  and  called  it  Thule. 
Hence  the  name  Ultima  Thule  in  ancient  times  meant  the  lands 
to  the  Farthest  North.  The  name  Norway  (Norvegr,  the  North 
Way)  seems  not  to  have  been  in  use  before  the  historic  era. 

The  Norwegians  are,  then.  Teutons.  The  Teutons  are  des- 
cendants  from  Japheth,  one  of  the  three  sons  of   Noah.     Noah 

once  made  a  prophecy  that  God  would  en- 
Race  large  Japheth,  and  Japheth  should  dwell  in  the 

tents  of  Shem,  and  Canaan  (Ham)  should 
be  his  servant.  This  prophecy  is  one  of  the  most  far-reaching 
and  important  facts  in  history,  for  it  has  been  in  fulfillment 
until  this  day.  Japheth  has  been  enlarged.  For  example,  at  the 
present  time  his  descendants  own  about  90  per  cent  of  the 
land  area  of  the  earth,  and  they  profess  Christianity,  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  Jews,  descendants  of  Shem.  For  3,000 
years  the  Japhetics  have  been  the  dominant  race  of  the  world. 
For  1500  years  the  Teutons  have  been  the  most  progressive  of  the 
Japhetics.  At  the  present  date,  the  Teutonic  peoples — the  English 
and  Americans,  the  Germans  and  Hollanders,  the  Danes,  Swedes, 
Icelanders  and  Norwegians — control  about  35  per  cent  of  the 
earth's  land  surface.  The  Norwegians  are  Teutons,  of  the  same 
blood  as  Danes  and  Swedes,  as  Englishmen  and  Germans. 

Physically,  the  Norwegians  are  the  most  typical  of  the  Teu- 
tons.    Anthropological  investigations  have  been  made  of  all  the 

principal  nationalities.  It  has  been  shown  that 
Physical  the  Norwegians  are  the  tallest  of  all  Europeans 

Characteristics  and  in  breadth  of  chest  they  are  excelled  by 

none.  Scandinavians,  and  with  them  Norweg- 
ians, are  found  to  be  the  fairest  among  the  so-called  white  races, 
since  fully  85  per  cent  of  them  have  light  complexions,  with  light 
hair  and  blue  eyes.  Only  71  per  cent  of  the  English  and  the  Ger- 
mans are  fair-skinned  and  light-haired.  Of  the  French,  55  per  cent 
have  a  dark  complexion ;  of  the  Italians,  78  per  cent  are  dark. 
The  Norwegians  are  physically  as  well  as  otherwise  a  strong 
and  hardy  race.     "  A  Hardy   Norseman,"  Edna  Lyell  calls  her 


20  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Norwegian  hero.  "Any  nation,"  says  Samuel  J.  Beckett,  "might 
well  envy  the  people  of  Norway  with  their  upright,  manly  bearing 
and  their  fair  complexions  and  blue  eyes.  This  simple,  honest, 
hospitable  people  are  the  modern  descendants  of  those  victorious 
Vikings  who  ravaged  the  coasts  of  Britain  and  later  settled 
there — bringing  with  them  that  love  of  freedom  which  these  men 
of  the  North  have  ever  considered  their  most  cherished  posses- 
sion. The  progress  made  during  the  last  fifty  years  is  nothing 
short  of  wonderful;  in  it  is  found  national  spirit  at  its  best,  sing- 
ularly united  and  advanced,  and  producing  as  fine  a  race,  both 
physically  and  intellectually,  as  is  found  in  any  country."  Com- 
pared with  other  countries,  the  number  of  old  people  in  Norway 
is  very  great,  exceeded  by  only  a  few  countries,  as,  for  instance, 
Sweden  and  France.  The  average  age  in  Norway  is  50  years, 
but  for  Italy  it  is  only  35. 

The  Norwegians  are  distinguished  for  their  intelligence  and 
literacy.     The  Icelandic  saga  "Heimskringla,"  the  history  of  the 

kings  of  Norway,  says  that  Odin,  the  god 
Intellectual  Traits      0f  wisdom,  the  highest  god  of  the  Norsemen, 

and  the  chief  who  led  the  Teutonic  tribes 
from  Asia  into  Europe,  taught  his  people  the  science  of  war  and 
the  art  of  writing.  Already  at  the  dawn  of  the  historic  era  the 
Norwegians  were  far  advanced  in  civilization.  They  have  ever 
since  kept  pace  with  the  educational  progress  of  their  day  and 
age.  Today  Norway  shares  with  Denmark  and  Sweden  the 
honor  of  being  the  most  literate  country  in  the  world.  A  sur- 
prisingly large  number  of  Norwegians  are  engaged  in  intellectual 
pursuits  and  win  for  Norway  a  fame  quite  out  of  proportion  to 
the  population.  Norway  has  a  smaller  population  than  Iowa, 
but  so  far  Iowa  has  not  produced  any  Ibsens,  Bjornsons,  Gar- 
borgs  and  Lies,  nor  any  Ole  Bulls  or  Edvard  Griegs,  or  Kjerulfs 
or  Nordraaks.  One-third  of  the  engineers  that  built  the  Panama 
Canal  are  said  to  have  been  Norwegians.  There  is  no  occupation 
in  which  Norwegian  brain  and  brawn  are  not  employed. 

Throughout  all  the  ages  the  typical  Norwegian  has  been  up- 
right and  honest  and  clean.     He  has  loved  righteousness  and  truth 

and  morality.  He  has  been  conscientiously 
Moral  Character         trying  to  obey  his  native  sense  of  right  and 

the  laws  of  the  land.  He  does  not  laugh 
at  vice.  There  are  exceptions  to  the  rule,  of  course,  but  these 
exceptions  are  notably  few  and  far  between.  On  this  point  com- 
parisons are  not  odious  as  far  as  the  Norwegians  are  concerned. 
The  United  States,  for  example,  in  the  period  1891-1895  had  no 
less  than  39,612  murders  and  homicides,  one  murder  to  every 
6,600  people.    During  the  same  period  Norway  had  only  38  mur- 


The  Norwegians  21' 

ders,  one  murder  to  266,600  people.  There  are  40  times  as  many 
murders  per  capita  in  the  United  States  as  in  Norway.  There 
were  only  10  robberies  in  Norway  in  five  years.  Norway  con- 
sumes less  intoxicating  liquors  than  any  other  country  except 
Finland.  The  modern  Viking  is  a  temperate  man,  temperate  in 
all  things. 

The  Norwegian  character  is  deeply  religious.    His  religion  in 
ancient  times  is  that  outlined  in  Norse  mythology,  a  very  sturdy 
sort  of  religion,  with  many  noble  ideals,  pre- 
Religion  cepts    and    examples.     The    Norwegians    had 

this  religion  in  common  with  other  Teutons, 
and  kept  it  no  doubt  at  a  higher  level  than  any  other  Teutonic 
tribe.  At  any  rate,  they  were  the  last  of  the  Teutonic  peoples  to 
put  aside  the  religion  of  Odin  and  Thor  and  to  accept  Christianity, 
and  they  preserved  in  the  Icelandic  literature  the  best  and  fullest 
account  of  the  religion  of  the  ancient  Teutons.  As  soon  as  the 
Norwegian  accepted  the  Christian  faith,  he  took  it  as  seriously  as 
he  had  taken  the  old  Asa  faith,  as  the  old  Norse  religion  is  called. 
For  500  years  Norway  was  a  Roman  Catholic  country  and  main- 
tained a  very  high  type  of  Catholicism.  Witness,  for  example,  the 
religious  zeal  of  King  Olaf  in  trying  to  make  his  people  Chris- 
tians. 

Olaf  here  the  cross  erected 
While  his  blood  he  shed. 

Witness  also  the  bold  defiance  of  King  Sverre,  when  he  and 
his  people  were  excommunicated  by  Pope  Innocent  III.  He 
promptly  told  the  Catholic  hierarchs  that  the  Norwegian  people 
were  politically  and  religiously  independent  of  any  and  every 
foreign  tyrant. 

Sverre's  word  the  land  protected 
'Gainst  the   Roman   dread. 

During  the  400  years  that  Norway  has  been  a  Lutheran  land, 
it  has  been  notably  steadfast  in  its  loyalty  to  the  Lutheran  con- 
fessions. True,  it  has  been  under  the  influence  of  larger  move- 
ments in  the  world  of  thought,  and  has  suffered  from  the  inroads 
of  rationalism,  sectarianism  and  indifferentism.  Nevertheless,  the 
people  as  a  whole  have  been  God-fearing  and  church-going,  with 
a  profound  respect  for  the  Word  of  God  and  the  Christian  Church. 
"High  up  stands  the  Church  in  the  thoughts  of  the  Norwegian 
peasant."  Like  a  city  set  on  a  hill  that  can  not  be  hid.  Norway 
has  had  religious  reformers  of  note,  giants  in  the  land.  Such  was, 
for  example,  Hans  Nielsen  Hauge  (1771-1824),  the  peasant  lay 
preacher  that  awoke  Norway  from  a  rationalistic  sleep  and  brought 
in  a  new  day  of  Christian  living,  with  political,  social,  industrial 


22  Norwegian  People  in  Awerica 

and  intellectual  progress  in  its  train.  At  present  99  per  cent  of  the 
Norwegian  population  is  Lutheran.  The  Norwegian  has  always 
been  tolerant  in  religious  matters,  as  in  all  matters  of  conscience 
and  personal  freedom.  He  has  not  been  willing  to  force  anybody 
to  accept  his  views,  even  though  he  himself  has  been  willing  to 
give  his  life  for  the  faith  that  is  in  him. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  Norwegians  were  very  warlike ; 
when,  as   Tacitus   says   of   their  kinsmen,   the   Germans :   "They 

deemed  it  a  disgrace  to  acquire  by  sweat 
Social  Qualities  what  they  might  obtain  by  blood."    In  those 

days,  the  Norsemen,  or  Northmen,  as  they 
were  also  called,  went  on  long  viking  raids  into  the  neighboring 
lands,  plundering  and  killing.  The  English  chroniclers  describe 
them  as  stinging  wasps  and  savage  wolves.  The  French  monks 
prayed  daily  to  God  to  deliver  them  from  the  fury  of  the  North- 
men. But  the  modern  Norwegian  is  different.  He  is  probably 
not  a  bit  less  brave  than  his  warlike  ancestor.  He  has  been  temper- 
ed by  Christianity  and  made  to  see  that  it  is  the  meek  that  shall  in- 
herit the  earth  and  that  peacemakers  shall  be  called  the  children 
of  God.  Norway  has  not  had  a  war  for  over  100  years.  When 
war  clouds  threatened  in  1814,  the  brave  Norwegians  went  to 
church  and  prayed  for  peace,  and  they  got  peace,  and  independence 
along  with  it.  When  war  was  imminent  again,  in  1905,  the  coun- 
try was  again  on  its  knees  in  prayer  before  the  Throne  of  Grace, 
and  war  was  again  averted,  resulting  in  the  separation  of  Sweden 
and  Norway,  without  a  drop  of  blood  having  been  shed.  Besides 
being  naturally  warlike  and  yet  peace-loving,  the  Norwegians  have 
many  noteworthy  emotional  traits.  They  have  a  feeling  of  rever- 
ence for  womanhood.  Woman  is  man's  equal.  She  has  full  suf- 
frage, and  Norway  was  the  first  land  in  the  world  to  grant  women 
the  right  to  vote  and  hold  office.  The  wife  is  the  queen  of  the 
home.  The  Norwegian  home  is  well  provided  with  children,  the 
average  being  4.7,  the  greatest  in  Europe.  Cruelty,  desertion  and 
divorce  occur  very  seldom  in  Norway.  The  Norwegian  is  tender 
and  true,  faithful  unto  death,  as  in  "Njaal's  Saga."  Njaal  was 
besieged  by  his  enemies,  who  threatened  to  burn  him  up  in  his 
house.  They  informed  him  that  his  wife  would  be  spared  and 
ordered  her  to  come  out.  But  she  said  no.  She  had  stayed  by 
him  throughout  a  long  life  and  therefore  she  would  stay  by  him 
to  the  end.  So  the  old  couple,  with  their  grandchild  between  them, 
lay  down  on  their  bed  and  were  consumed  by  the  flames. 

The  Norwegians  are  a  race  of  workers.    They  all  learn  to  work 
in  Norway  and  all  are  set  to  work  who  are  physically  and  mentally 
able.     They  are  willing  to  work  and  rejoice 
Industry  jn   their   task.      About    56   per   cent   are   en- 

gaged in  farming  and  fishing ;  about  24  per  cent 
are  engaged  in  manufacturing;     15  per  cent  in  trade  and  trans- 


The  Norwegians  23 

portation,  including  shipping ;  and  5  per  cent  are  occupied  with  in- 
tellectual work.  Formerly,  they  preferred  the  outdoor  life  and 
occupations  that  called  for  the  exercise  of  strength,  courage  and 
endurance ;  but  with  the  growth  of  the  cities  and  the  demand  for 
manufactures,  they  have  taken  to  mechanical  and  intellectual  pur- 
suits. There  are  few  who  are  very  rich,  and  few  very  poor. 
The  pauper  class  represents  only  1.2  per  cent  of  the  population; 
only  2.9  per  cent  of  the  population  are  independently  rich.  Nor- 
way is  the  most  thinly  settled  land  in  Europe,  having  only  18  to 
the  square  mile.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  only  10  per 
cent  of  the  land  is  habitable  and  also  to  the  fact  that  the  popula- 
tion is  constantly  drained  through  a  large  emigration  of  young 
people.  But,  in  spite  of  such  fearful  handicaps  the  tendency  of  the 
Norwegian  people  is  upward,  socially  and  industrially,  in  culture 
and  in  wealth.  Speaking  of  this,  Curtis  remarks :  "The  population 
of  the  kingdom  not  only  holds  its  own,  but  shows  a  slight  increase, 
which  seems  remarkable  because  of  the  continual  drain  of  young, 
able-bodied  men  and  women  who  have  removed  to  our  western 
states.  In  all  public  movements,  in  all  social,  intellectual  and  com- 
mercial activities,  in  art,  science  and  literature,  in  wealth  and  pros- 
perity, Norway  stands  abreast  of  the  most  advanced  nations  of 
Europe ;  but  its  progress  is  not  won  without  greater  effort  than  any 
other  people  put  forth  and  the  application  of  thrift  and  industry 
elsewhere  unknown,  but  which  is  required  in  a  climate  so  bleak  and 
inhospitable  and  by  a  soil  so  wild  and  rocky.  None  but  a  race 
like  the  Norsemen  could  have  kept  a  foothold  here,  but  as  I  have 
suggested,  this  constant  struggle  against  nature  has  been  the 
strongest  factor  in  framing  the  character  of  the  Norwegian." 

Politically,  the  typical  Norwegian  is  an  ardent  champion  of 
democracy   and   personal   independence.      "He    would   endure  the 

rigid  climate  of  the  North,  the  burning  sun 
Political  Aspects        0f     the     South.      He      would     sleep    beneath 

no  other  roof  than  the  arch  of  heaven,  use 
bark  for  bread,  drink  rain-water  as  a  beverage,  make  the  forest 
his  habitation,  and  have  the  wild  beasts  for  his  companions.  But 
he  would  never  give  up  one  inch  of  his  rights  as  a  free  man.  The 
people  of  classical  countries  were  free  men,  because  they  belonged 
to  a  powerful  and  free  state ;  they  boasted  of  their  citizenship. 
The  Northman  was  a  free  man  because  he  was  a  man — he  boasted 
of  himself  and  the  deeds  he  performed."  This  passion  for  free- 
dom runs  throughout  Norwegian  history.  It  accounts  for  the 
exodus  of  the  Norwegians  to  Iceland  and  Normandy.  It  accounts 
for  the  fact  that  Norway  has  really  never  had  any  nobility.  The 
Norwegians  were  the  last  people  in  Europe  to  submit  to  the  Catho- 
lic yoke  and  the  first  to  throw  it  off.     Kings  were  kings  by  grace. 


24  Norwegian  People  in  America 

In  the  saga  days,  if  the  crops  failed  or  bad  weather  destroyed 
the  herds,  sometimes  the  peasants  sacrificed  their  king  to  the  gods. 
In  modern  days  the  king  is  expected  to  sacrifice  himself  as  the 
servant  of  his  people.  For  over  400  years  Norway  was  a  province 
of  Denmark  and  suffered  many  humiliations.  Still,  the  desire  for 
freedom  was  never  extinguished  and  the  spirit  of  independence 
was  never  quenched.  There  came  a  day,  in  1814,  when  Norway 
drew  its  sword  against  all  Europe  and  demanded  national  indepen- 
dence. Norwegian  Vikings  had  in  years  past  settled  in  England 
and  had  established  law  and  order  there,  with  Magna  Charta  and 
the  Bill  of  Rights.  From  the  Norwegian  sections  of  England  had 
come  the  deep  protests  against  the  English  kings  and  their  mis- 
rule. From  these  parts  of  the  land  are  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  who 
came  to  settle  the  American  shores  and  the  ancestors  of  George 
Washington,  who,  according  to  Albert  Welles'  "Pedigree  and 
History  of  the  Washington  Family,"  had  at  one  time,  for  300  years, 
lived  in  Norway  before  moving  to  England.  Norwegian  Vikings 
had  likewise  established  strong  governments  in  other  lands — in 
Iceland,  France,  Russia,  etc.  In  short,  the  Norwegians  have  been 
political  and  religious  Protestants;  they  have  been  exponents  of 
individual  freedom  and  constitutional  rights.  Henrik  Anker  Bjer- 
regaard  sings  in  his  "Sons  of  Norway" : 

Pride  of  the  Norsemen,  the  temple  of  freedom 

Stands  like  a  rock  where  the  stormy  wind  breaks, 
Tempests  howl  'round  it,  but  little  he'll  heed  them  ; 
Freely  he  thinks,  and  as  freely  he  speaks. 
Birds  in  their  motion, 
Waves   of   the   ocean, 
Poorly  can   rival   his   Liberty's   voice; 

Yet  he   obeys,  with  a  willing  devotion, 
Laws  of  his  making  and  kings  of  his  choice. 

The  Norwegians  resemble  the  other  Teutonic  peoples  in  lan- 
guage as  well  as  in  looks,  original  religion,  customs,  laws,  etc. 

Somewhere,  away  back  in  time,  the  Teutons 
Language  were    no    doubt    one    people,    living    together 

and  speaking  the  same  language.  Even  now 
Danes,  Norwegians  and  Swedes  can  easily  converse  together 
without  learning  one  another's  language.  A  thousand  years  ago 
the  Anglo-Saxons  and  the  Northmen  talked  together  without 
interpreters.  Says  "Gunnlaug's  Saga" :  "In  those  days  was  the 
same  language  in  England  as  in  Norway  and  Denmark ;  but  the 
speech  changed  when  William  the  Bastard  conquered  England." 
The  Old  Norse,  still  spoken  in  Iceland  in  its  old-time  purity, 
with  only  slight  modifications,  is  the  purest  of  the  Teutonic  lan- 
guages, freest  from  admixture  with  other  languages.  The  Old 
Norse  is  still  pretty  strong  in  some  of  the  Norwegian  dialects  and 
in  the  Norwegian  "landsmaal."    Modern  Norwegian,  a  dialect  of 


The  Norwegians  25 

Danish,  is  almost  entirely  a  Teutonic  language.  In  this  it  is  unlike 
English,  which  has  borrowed  so  much  from  the  French,  Latin 
and  Greek.  But  it  has  thousands  of  words  almost  identical  with 
the  English,  and  is  like  the  English  simple  in  its  sentence  structure 
and  analytical  in  character.  Norwegians  readily  learn  to  use 
the  English  language.  They  are  good  linguists,  and  a  large  per 
cent  of  the  people  of  Norway  speak  English  as  well  as  German 
and  other  languages. 

A  nation's  culture  is  measured  in  many  ways — by  its  insti- 
tutions and  laws,  its  music,  paintings,  sculpture  and  architecture, 
its   philosophy,   science  and  literature,  and  in 
Culture  other  ways.    Measured  by  any  of  these  stand- 

ards, the  Norwegians  have  culturally  been  a 
great  people  throughout  their  history.  Let  a  word  or  two  about 
their  literature  suffice.  The  actual  beginning  of  writing  no  one 
knows  for  sure.  But  we  all  feel  certain  with  Carlyle,  sometimes 
called  "that  old  Scotch-Norseman,"  that  "the  art  of  writing  is 
one  of  the  most  miraculous  things  man  has  devised."  No  wonder 
that  the  old  Norsemen  attributed  its  origin  to  their  god  of  wisdom, 
Odin.  He  is  said  to  have  invented  the  runic  alphabet  of  the  Scan- 
dinavians. Runic  inscriptions  have  been  found  wherever  Teutonic 
peoples  have  dwelt,  but  they  are  especially  numerous  in  Scandi- 
navia and  Great  Britain.  Many  of  these  are  in  stone  and  go  back 
as  far  as  300  A.  D.  The  language  is  everywhere  the  same  at  this 
age.  These  inscriptions  are  the  oldest  remains  of  Norse  literature ; 
in  fact,  they  are  the  oldest  specimens  of  Teutonic  writings,  being- 
older  than  Ulfilas'  translation  of  the  Bible  into  Gothic  and 
"Beowulf,"  the  Anglo-Saxon  epic.  During  the  Middle  Ages  the 
Norwegian  settlers  in  Iceland  carried  on  a  most  brilliant  literary 
activity.  Darkness,  intellectual  and  spiritual,  brooded  heavy  over 
the  other  nations  of  Europe.  But  way  up  in  Iceland,  "with  frost 
and  mist  around  it,"  the  sun  was  at  high  noon.  Men  were  making 
history  and  writing  it. 

F.  Metcalfe,  in  his  "Comparisons  of  Anglo-Saxon  and  Old 
Norse  Literature,"  says:  "Scandinavian  literature  is  very  attrac- 
tive in  itself,  very  sparkling,   full  of  nerve  and  energy,  like  the 

people  themselves Anglo-Saxon   literature,  on  the  other 

hand,  is  not  so  attractive.  Good,  solid,  honest  work  it  is,  but  of  no 
great  brilliancy."  Says  Mary  W.  Williams,  in  her  "Social  Scan- 
dinavia in  the  Viking  Age" :  "The  literature  produced-  and  pre- 
served by  the  Scandinavian  North  is  a  real  national  body  of  writ- 
ing, unequalled  by  any  other  literary  compositions  of  the  Middle 

Ages In  consequence,  it  is  a  contribution  which  deserves 

the  deep  gratitude  of  subsequent  generations.  At  a  time  when 
interest  in  things  intellectual  and  literary  scarcely  extended  be- 


26  Norwegian  People  in  America 

yond  the  monastic  walls  and  when  the  literary  output  of  the  Con- 
tinent was  in  the  form  of  dreary  church  chronicles  of  saints  and 
martyrs,  tiresomely  told,  these  virile  inhabitants  of  the  Far  North 
created  a  literature  original  in  form,  narrating  in  prose  the  deeds 
of  real,  red-blooded  men  and  women  living  in  a  natural  secular 
world  and  meeting  and  giving  battle  to  the  problems  which  the 
Fates  sent  their  way;  or  sinping  in  meter  their  own  hopes  and 
fears,  joys  and  sorrows,  or  the  praise  of  the  valor  and  wisdom  of 
the  sturdy  gods  of  Northern  heathendom." 

Norwegian  literature  may  be  divided  into  three  sections — 
the  Ancient  Period,  mainly  Icelandic,  from  800  to  1319;  the  Union 
Period,  during  which  time  Norway  had  its  literature  in  common 
with  Denmark,  from  1319  to  1814;  the  Modern  Period,  from  1814 
until  the  present  day.  The  first  of  these  periods  has  already 
been  described  as  one  of  unique  brilliancy,  the  richest  in  mediaeval 
Europe.  The  literary  activities  of  the  second  period  are  blended 
with  the  glory  of  Denmark.  "When  Norway  was  separated  from 
Denmark  (in  1814)  it  was  as  if  all  the  literary  forces  in  the  coun- 
try had  awakened  from  a  long  trance  with  fresh  life  and  energy, 
and  there  sprang  forth  with  almost  violent  strength,  a  literature 
the  importance  of  which  reached  far  beyond  the  boundaries  of 
Norway,  and  influenced  the  intellectual  life  of  the  whole  of 
Europe."  Again  it  can  truly  be  said  that  the  Norwegians,  during 
the  last  century,  have  been  active  in  making  history  and  writing 
it.  They  have  beaten  their  swords  into  plow  shares  and  pen  points. 
Henrik  Wergeland,  who  died  in  1845  when  only  37  years  of  age, 
was  a  lyric  poet,  who  typifies  the  poetical  and  national  expansion 
of  the  race  itself  after  centuries  of  repose.  His  sister,  Camilla 
Collett,  was  a  great  novelist  and  champion  of  woman's  emancipa- 
tion. Aasen  and  Vinje  were  ardent  nationalists.  Jonas  Lie  and 
Alexander  Kielland  were  novelists  of  high  rank.  Arne  Garborg 
was  a  fine  lyric  poet  and  novelist  in  "landsmaal."  Head  and  shoul- 
ders above  their  fellows  in  the  literary  field  were  BjoYnson  and 
Ibsen.  Bjomson  (1832-1910)  was  equally  productive  as  lyric 
poet,  dramatist  and  novelist,  in  all  of  which,  as  well  as  in  platform 
oratory,  he  took  up  with  mighty  energy  the  questions  of  the  day, 
particularly  those  that  concerned  Norway.  His  influence  has  been 
tremendous.  For  example,  through  the  local  color  of  his  peasant 
stories,  every  hill  and  valley  and  fjord  of  Norway  has  had  its 
own  author.  Ibsen  (1828-1906)  excelled  in  the  drama,  romantic, 
realistic  and  social.  He  is  called  the  greatest  of  modern  dramatists 
and  his  works  have  been  translated  into  the  chief  modern  lan- 
guages. There  is  a  host  of  younger  writers  of  note,  such  as, 
Heiberg,  Hamsun,  Prydz,  Bojer,  Olaf  Bull,  Herman  Wildenwey, 
etc.  These  writers,  as  a  rule,  no  matter  how  secular  and  gay  in 
tone,  have  a  serious  vein  and   an   uplifting  influence.     Like  the 


The  Norwegians  27 

scalds  and  saga-writers  of  old,  they  picture  the  Norwegian  as  a 
man  of  high  ideals  and  a  seeker  after  the  truth,  imaginative,  with 
deep  convictions  and  sincere  emotions,  a  toiler,  a  fighter,  con- 
scientious in  moral  influence  and  profoundly  religious. 

The  English  interest  in  the  Norwegian  language  and  literature 
has  never  been  very  wide-spread  or  intense.  Englishmen  have 
made  Norway  their  summer  resort  and  expect  the  Norwegians  to 
use  the  English  language  if  they  would  have  the  honor  of  their 
visits.  An  American  minister  to  Denmark  resided  at  Copenhagen 
seven  years  and,  upon  his  return  to  America,  proudly  declared 
that  he  had  not  learned  to  speak  Danish.  Professor  C.  B.  Burch- 
ardt  of  Oxford  University,  in  his  "Norwegian  Life  and  Litera- 
ture," traces  the  development  of  the  English  interest  in  Norwegian 
matters.  He  finds  that  Ibsen  is  practically  the  only  Norwegian 
author  that  is  read  to  any  considerable  extent  in  English  trans- 
lation. At  present  there  is  a  flurry  of  interest  over  Hamsun  and 
Bojer,  but  at  best  the  English  are  careful  to  deny  themselves  the 
privilege  of  getting  an  inspiration  from  Norse  literature.  William 
Archer,  the  great  English  critic  and  translator  of  Ibsen,  was  a 
half   Norwegian. 

3.  Their  History 

The  Norwegians  came  upon  the  historical  arena  relatively  late. 
But  when  they  did  come  they  played  a  leading  part,  contributing 
on  a  large  scale  to  the  highest  idealism  and  the  soundest  material 
welfare  of  the  world.  It  is  truly  remarkable  that  general  histories, 
as  a  rule,  have  so  little  to  say  about  Norway  and  its  part  in  the 
world's  work.  Norway  gets  in  the  average  general  history  almost 
as  little  mention  as  Palestine.  It  is  remarkable,  too,  that  the  two 
lands  that  have  been  most  signally  benefitted  by  Norwegian  ideal- 
ism and  labor,  namely,  Great  Britain  and  America,  should  be 
content  with  histories  that  never  say  one  word  about  the  Nor- 
wegians and  their  contribution  to  the  material  progress  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness  in  these  English  speaking  lands.  This  in- 
difference to  the  story  of  Norway  and  all  Scandinavia,  for  that 
matter,  is  also  seen  in  the  fact  that,  until  recently,  there  have  been 
very  few  histories  of  the  Scandinavian  North  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. 

In  this  book  it  is  not  possible  to  give  even  a  brief  catalog  of 
important  events  in  Norwegian  history.  We  simply  call  attention 
to  the  fact  that  Norway  has  a  history,  and  that  this  history,  as 
well  as  the  people  who  made  it,  is  of  special  interest  to  those  who 
pride  themselves  on  being  of  English  descent  and  American  citizen- 
ship. Metcalfe  says  in  his  "An  Oxonian  in  Norway":  "But  Nor- 
way is  not  only  interesting  for  its  unique  scenery,  but  also  for  its 
blood-relationship  with  Great  Britain." 


28  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The  "New  York  Journal  of  Commerce"  is  quoted  by  P.  S. 
Sinding  as  saying:  "There  is  a  nation,  even  now  extant  (  !),  pos- 
sessing as  brave  a  history  as  that  of  the  Romans,  as  poetic  as  that 
of  the  Greeks ;  a  nation  that  controlled  the  world's  history  in  many 
things,  and  at  many  times,  and  whose  achievements  in  war  and  in 
letters,  are  worthy  the  most  heroic  age  of  Rome  and  the  most  fin- 
ished period  of  Greece;  a  nation  whose  philosophy  outran  their 
age,  and  anticipated  results  that  have  been  slowly  occurring  ever 
since.  This  reference  can  be  true  of  but  one  people,  and  that  peo- 
ple is  the  Norsemen,  who  lived  as  heroes,  lords  and  conquerors ; 
who,  sailing  out  of  the  ice  and  desolation  in  which  they  were  born 
and  nurtured,  conquered  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland ;  rav- 
aged Brittany  and  Normandy;  discovered  and  colonized  Iceland 
and  Greenland ;  and  they  can  be  said,  with  confidence,  to  have 
crossed  the  Atlantic  in  their  crazy  barks,  and  to  have  discovered  this 
very  continent,  before  Columbus.  And  then  their  religion — what 
a  wild,  massive,  manly  mythology!  With  nothing  of  the  soft  sen- 
timentalities of  more  southern  peoples,  but  containing  much  that 
revelation  has  assured  us  to  be  true  of  doctrine — preaching  ever 
the  necessity  of  right,  and  doing  right — of  manliness,  honesty  and 
responsibility,  rewards  and  punishments." 

It  is  not  necessary  for  an  American  to  be  ignorant  about  this 
people.  There  are  books  now,  such  as  Knut  Gjerset's  "History 
of  the  Norwegian  People"  and  his  "History  of  Iceland,"  which 
give  in  plain  English  a  truthful  and  sober  account  of  the  Nor- 
wegians, and  it  should  be  possible  in  the  writing  of  American  his- 
tories, to  give  due  credit  to  the  Norwegians  and  the  other  na- 
tionalities who  have  helped  to  make  America. 

The  story  of  Norway  can  be  divided  into  two  periods,  of  about 
equal  duration — the  Prehistoric  (from  300  B.  C.  to  872  A.  D.)  and 
the  Historic  (from  872  A.  D.).  The  Historic  Period  falls  into  six 
sub-periods — independence  (800-1319),  union  with  Sweden 
(1319-1380),  union  with  Denmark  and  Sweden  — the  Calmar 
Union  (1380-1523),  union  with  Denmark  (1523-1814),  union 
with  Sweden  (1814-1905),  and  independence  (1905—). 

There  is,  of  course,  much  obscurity  hanging  over  this  era.  The 
historical   sources   are   only   fragmentary   and   incidental — a   few 

runic  inscriptions  and  relics,  a  poem  or  two, 
Prehistoric  Era  like  "Widsith"  and  "Beowulf,"  and  an  occa- 
(ca.  300  B.  C—  sional  mention  by  a  Greek  and   Roman   his- 

872  A.  D.)  torian,   as   Plutarch,   Livy,    Ptolemy,   Tacitus. 

The  world  empire  of  Rome  never  extended 
as  far  north  as  Scandinavia.  It  was  eventually  (in  476  A.  D.) 
crushed  by  the  Teutonic  tribes,  particularly  the  Goths  and  the 
Germans.  But  the  first  Germanic  people  that  crossed  into  the 
Roman  Empire  were  the  Cimbri,  in  113  B.  C,  who  came  from 


The  Norwegians  29 

Denmark.  From  Denmark  and  its  immediate  vicinity  came  also 
the  Angles,  Saxons  and  Jutes,  who  in  the  latter  half  of  the  fifth 
century  invaded  Britain  and  made  it  England  (after  the  Angles). 
The  Norsemen  were  kinsfolk  of  these  Cimbri,  Angles,  Saxons  and 
Jutes,  and  no  doubt  took  part  in  their  expeditions.  They  had 
well-built  boats,  fitted  with  mast  and  sail.  Their  call  was  to  the 
sea,  if  they  would  win  fame  and  fortune.  So  the  sea  became 
their  highway  from  coast  to  coast,  and  Viking  expeditions  were 
carried  on  in  search  of  booty,  conquest  and  adventure.  The  "Anglo- 
Saxon  Chronicle"  mentions  the  coming  of  the  Vikings  to  Eng- 
land as  early  as  7S7  A.  D. 

The  ancient  Norsemen  had  always  been  independent.  There  is 
no  record  to  the  contrary.     But  they  had  not  been  unified  into 

a  distinct  nation  before  872,  when  Harald 
Independence  the  Fairhaired  defeated  the  last  of  the  rival 

(872-1319)  petty  kings  of   Norway  in  a  naval  battle  at 

Havrsfjord  near  Stavanger.  After  his  death 
the  kingdom  was  again  broken  up  and  reunited  time  and  again.  In 
995  Olaf  Trygvasson,  a  great-grandson  of  Harald,  reunited  the 
kingdom.  He  had  been  baptized  in  England  and  sought  to  Chris- 
tianize his  people,  but  he  met  with  opposition  and  was  defeated  and 
slain  at  Svolder  by  the  united  forces  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  and 
Eric,  son  of  Jarl  (Earl)  Haakon  of  Norway.  Another  descendant 
of  Harald,  St.  Olaf,  again  reunited  the  kingdom,  besides  trying 
to  evangelize  it.  He  attempted  to  force  Christianity  on  his  people, 
and  naturally  met  with  bitter  opposition.  He  was  killed  in  the 
battle  at  Stiklestad,  in  1030.  Soon  he  was  regarded  as  a  martyr 
and  declared  a  saint  by  the  national  assembly. 

Among  the  more  important  kings  who  came  after  him  may  be 
mentioned  the  following:  Magnus  the  Good  (1035-1047),  Harald 
Sigurdsson  (1047-1066),  Olaf  the  Peaceful  (1066-1093),  Mag- 
nus Erlingsson  (1161-1184),  Sverre  Sigurdsson  (1177-1202), 
Haakon  Haakonsson  (1217-1263),  Magnus  Law-Mender  (1263- 
1280),  and  Haakon  Magnusson  1299-1319.)  Magnus  the  Good 
established  peace  in  the  land.  Harald  Sigurdsson  attacked  England 
in  1066,  the  year  of  the  Norman  Conquest,  and  fell  at  Stamford 
Bridge.  Olaf  the  Peaceful  framed  a  constitution  and  organized  the 
Christian  Church.  Magnus  Erlingsson  granted  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  too  large  concessions,  which  brought  on  the  bitter  and 
bloody  "Birkebeiner-Bagler"  war  between  the  common  people  and 
the  episcopal  party.  Sverre  Sigurdsson  defeated  Magnus  and  the 
papal  party.  Haakon  Haakonsson,  a  grandson  of  Sverre,  further 
deprived  the  clergy  of  their  undue  political  influence,  and  annexed 
Greenland.  Magnus  Law-Mender  subdued  Iceland  and  reformed 
the  laws.  Haakon  Magnusson  was  the  last  male  descendant  of 
the  Harald-the-Fairhaired  line. 


30  Norivegian  People  in  America 

King  Haakon  had  a  daughter,  Ingeborg,  who  was  married  to 
Duke  Erik  of  Sweden.     Magnus  Eriksson,  the  son  of  Duke  Erik 

and  Ingeborg,  was  only  three  years  old  when 
Union  with  Sweden  his  grandfather  died.  Over  in  Sweden  a  rebel- 
(1319-1380)  Hon  had  broken  out  against  King  Birger,  and 

Magnus  Eriksson  was  proclaimed  king.  Thus 
Norway  and  Sweden  were  for  the  first  time  united  under  one  ruler. 
The  union  was  only  nominal,  as  the  two  countries  had  separate 
laws  and  administrations,  with  nothing  in  common  except  the  king. 
It  was  arranged  that  Erik,  the  king's  oldest  son,  should  reign  in 
Sweden,  and  Haakon,  the  second  son,  should  rule  over  Norway. 
Haakon  married  Margaret,  a  Danish  princess.  The  most  important 
event  during  his  period  was  the  coming  of  the  Black  Death,  a  terri- 
ble pestilence  which  ravaged  most  of  the  European  countries, 
reaching  Norway  in  1349.  In  many  districts  it  swept  away  the  en- 
tire population.  Centuries  elapsed  before  the  country  recovered 
from  this  terrible  calamity. 

In   1375  Queen   Margaret  succeeded  in  getting  her  son  Olaf 
Haakonson  elected  king  of  Denmark.     On  the  death  of  his  father 
in   1380  he  became  king  of  Norway  also.    On 
Union  with  Sweden    Olaf's  death  in  1387  Margaret  was  proclaimed 
and  Denmark  regent  of  Denmark  and  Norway  and  in   1389 

(1380-1523)  Sweden  was  also  included  in  her  regency.    In 

1397  her  great-nephew,  Erik  of  Pomerania, 
was  formally  elected  king  of  the  three  Scandinavian  states  at  the 
Diet  of  Calmar.  Margaret  continued  to  rule  until  her  death  in 
1412.  As  each  of  the  three  kingdoms  jealously  maintained  its 
own  form  of  government,  the  prospects  of  a  lasting  peaceable 
union  were  not  very  bright.  The  Danish  kings  had  the  utmost  dif- 
ficulty in  maintaining  the  union.  The  outcome  of  the  century-long 
struggle  was  that  Norway,  not  having  any  nobility,  was  made  a 
vassal  province,  and  Sweden,  through  its  aristocracy,  with  the 
backing  of  the  peasantry,  regained  its  independence.  In  1523 
Gustavus  Vasa  was  proclaimed  king  of  Sweden,  and  the  Calmar 
Union  was  at  an  end. 

It  has  been  said  that  during  the  union  with  Denmark,  Nor- 
way had  no  history.     In   1537,  the  year  in  which  the  Lutheran 

Reformation  was  introduced  into  Norway,  Nor- 
Union  with  Den-  wav  was  formally  declared  to  be  a  province  of 
mark  (1523-1814)        Denmark,  and  the  decree  was  accepted  without 

a  protest.  The  country  had  been  reduced  to  a 
state  of  poverty  and  dependence.  Commerce  had  been  destroyed ; 
taxation  without  representation  consumed  the  people's  substance. 
The  Danish  language  supplanted  the  Old  Norse.  The  literature  of 
Norway  from  the  Reformation  to  the  end  of  the  union  is  in- 
separable from  that  of   Denmark.     There  was  no  university  in 


The  Norwegians  31 

Norway  before  1811,  therefore  the  young  Norwegians  had  to  go 
to  Copenhagen  to  get  their  higher  and  professional  training.  Lud- 
vig  Holberg,  the  great  "Danish"  poet,  is  an  example  of  a  Nor- 
wegian, born  in  Norway,  but  trained  in  Denmark,  hence  reckoned 
as  a  Dane. 

As  long  as  Norway  was  a  mere  appendage  to  Denmark  it  could 
not  escape  being  involved  in  the  consequences  of  Denmark's  for- 
eign policies.  When  the  Danes  desired  to  maintain  an  armed 
neutrality  in  the  Napoleonic  wars  in  1800-1801,  England  objected 
and  attacked  Copenhagen.  Six  years  later,  the  English  fleet  again 
bombarded  Copenhagen  and  forced  the  surrender  of  the  Danish 
and  Norwegian  fleets.  At  the  same  time  Norway  was  entirely  cut 
off  from  Denmark  by  the  British  blockade,  and  reduced  to  the 
point  of  starvation.  In  the  midst  of  these  calamities  the  old  love 
of  freedom  and  independence  awoke  again  in  the  Norseman's 
breast  and  he  demanded  his  birthright.  His  night  of  political 
servitude  was  at  an  end.  This  was  in  1814.  Only  a  few  years 
before  the  spiritual  darkness  which  had  for  a  century  or  more 
rested  over  Norway,  was  also  dispelled  by  the  Gospel  preaching 
of  the  peasant-reformer,  Hans  Nielsen  Hauge. 

On   May   17,   1814,  the   Norwegians  held  a  representative  as- 
sembly at  Eidsvold,  where  they  adopted  a  new  constitution  and 
elected  Christian  Frederick,  heir  to  the  Danish 
Union  with  Sweden   throne,  as  king  of  Norway.  This  show  of  inde- 
(1814-1905)  pendence  did  not  suit  the  great  powers  of  Eu- 

rope— England,  Prussia,  Austria  and  Russia, 
which  had  decided  at  the  Peace  of  Kiel  that  Norway  should  belong 
to  Sweden.  The  powers  demanded  fulfilment  of  their  decree.  A 
Swedish  army  proceeded  to  occupy  Norway  as  far  as  Glommen. 
Christian  Frederick  quickly  resigned  and  set  sail  for  Denmark, 
where  he  afterwards  reigned  as  Christian  VIII  (1839-1848).  The 
Norwegians  prepared  to  defend  their  rights,  and  would  no  doubt 
have  done  so  to  the  last  man,  in  case  war  had  been  declared.  As 
stated  before,  they  laid  their  case  before  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  Who 
answers  prayer.  They  called  also  a  "storthing,"  or  parliament, 
accepted  the  resignation  of  Christian  Frederick  and  elected  Charles 
XIII  of  Sweden  as  king  of  Norway,  on  condition  that  Norway 
should  be  an  independent  country  and  that  the  king  would  govern 
it  in  accordance  with  its  new  constitution.  On  these  terms  he 
accepted  the  crown  of  Norway  and  withdrew  his  troops.  His 
successors  were:  Charles  XIV  John  (1814-1844),  Oscar  I 
(1844-1859),  Charles  XV  (1859-1872),  and  Oscar  II  (1872- 
1905).  These  Swedish  rulers  were  all  noble-minded  men,  who, 
with  the  exception  of  Charles  John,  scrupulously  sought  to  ob- 
serve the  constitution  of  Norway  and  to  promote  the  material  and 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  country. 


32  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Under  this  system  of  dual  monarchy,  Norway  was  really  just 
as  independent  as  Sweden.  But  to  the  world  it  did  not  seem  so, 
because  the  king  was  a  Swede  and  the  consular  service  was  united. 
In  the  eyes  of  the  world  Norway  was  a  province  of  Sweden,  and 
this  was  a  constant  source  of  grievance  to  the  Norwegians.  The  de- 
sire of  the  Norwegians  to  gain  complete  separation  increased  from 
year  to  year  and  came  to  a  head  in  1905.  The  Norwegian  Storthing 
had  passed  a  bill  for  a  separate  consular  service,  and  this  bill  the 
king  vetoed.  The  Norwegians  promptly  voted  that  he  had  for- 
feited their  confidence  and  declared  him  "out  of  office."  This 
resolution  was  confirmed  by  a  popular  vote — 362,980  votes  against 
182.  An  unofficial  poll  of  women  votes  registered  an  additional 
278,000  for  dissolution.  War  clouds  threatened,  but  arbitration 
and  prayer  averted  the  scourge  of  war.  King  Oscar  abdicated 
the  Norwegian  throne,  and  the  Norwegians  offered  it  to  a  prince 
of  his  house,  an  offer  that  was  refused. 

History  is  a  record  of  what  man  has  done,  and  should  teach 
the  nations  of  the  world  how  to  live  together  in  peace  and  mutual 
helpfulness.  In  this  selfish  and  war-mad  world  there  is  perhaps 
no  finer  example  of  national  honor  and  justice  than  that  of  Swe- 
den and  Norway  during  the  dissolution  of  their  union.  Norway 
wanted  to  be  free;  Sweden  wanted  to  be  fair.  They  settled  all 
their  disputes  without  war,  according  to  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity. They  continue  to  regard  each  other  as  friendly  neigh- 
bors, kinsfolk,  of  equal  rank  and  worth,  with  a  right  to  a  place 
in  the  sun. 

When  King  Oscar  denied  a  Swedish  prince  the  right  to  accept 
the  throne  of  Norway,  the  Norwegian  Storthing  offered  the  vacant 
throne  to  Prince  Carl  of  Denmark,  on  the  basis 
Independence  0f  an  election,  which  gave  259,563  in  favor  of 

(1905—)  a  king  and  69,264  in  favor  of  a  republic.  Prince 

Carl  accepted  the  offer  and  took  the  name  of 
Haakon  VII,  taken  from  the  saga  period.  He  made  his  entry 
into  Christiania  Nov.  25,  1905,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Queen 
Maud  (an  English  princess)  and  their  son,  Alexander,  who  had 
now  been  named  Olav.  In  1906  the  king  was  formally  crowned 
at  Trondhjem.  Thereby,  after  nearly  600  years,  Norway  again 
existed  as  an  independent  nation  in  its  own  consciousness  and  in 
that  of  its  contemporaries. 

The  country  has  passed  through  stirring  times  since  it  became 
independent.  It  lived  close  to  the  scenes  of  the  World  War,  sailed 
the  seven  seas,  and  kept  out  of  the  war.  The  growth  of  manu- 
facturing is  perhaps  the  most  far-reaching  of  the  changes  in  the 
land,  bringing  in  its  wake  many  changes  in  the  life  of  the  people. 
They  are  passing  from  a  rural  to  a  city  population.     Hence  they 


The  Norwegians  33 

have  many  new  problems — industrial,  social,  moral,  religious  and 
intellectual — with  which  they  now  are  grappling. 

In  1914  Norway  celebrated  the  centennial  of  its  constitutional 
independence.  What  stupendous  progress  during  the  century ! 
What  dreams  had  been   fulfilled  and  how  quickly! 


4.     Their  Place  in  History 

The  land  is  small,  approximately  1 -450th  of  the  earth's  land 
surface.    That  is  all.    Siberia  and   Sahara  are  much  larger,  but 

count  for  less.  Palestine  and  Greece  are  much 
The  Land  smaller,   but  have  counted   for  more.    In  any 

event,  Norway  has  great  resources  and  marvel- 
lous scenery,  and  has  a  place  in  history  that  can  not  be  exactly 
measured  in  square  miles.  Norway  occupies  a  larger  place  in 
history  than  it  does  on  the  map. 

The  population  is  small,  only  1 -650th  of  the  population  of  the 
earth.     Just  a  handful.     The   Norwegians  are  not  multitudinous 

as  are  their  cousins,  the  Germans  and  the 
The  People  English.      The     immigration    to    Norway    has 

always  been  small,  the  emigration  has  been 
great.  Ethnographically,  the  Norwegians  are  Teutons,  the  most 
typical  of  Teutons.  Physically,  they  are  tall  and  lank,  healthy 
and  hardy,  a  vigorous,  handsome  race.  Intellectually,  they  are 
like  the  other  Teutons,  highly  endowed,  with  a  boundless  capacity 
for  civilization.  Morally,  they  are  a  clean,  chaste  race,  with  the 
highest  standards  and  most  tender  conscience.  Religiously,  they 
are  God-fearing — in  olden  days,  according  to  their  Norse  mythol- 
ogy, they  had  the  highest  type  of  natural  religion  recorded ;  and  in 
our  day,  according  to  the  Lutheran  faith,  the  purest  type  of  Chris- 
tianity ever  formulated.  Socially,  they  are  a  friendly,  hospitable, 
thrifty,  home-loving  race,  reverencing  womanhood  and  respecting 
conjugal  ties.  Industrially,  they  love  to  work  at  any  honest  calling, 
and,  as  R.  L.  Stevenson  says,  "They  know  what  pleasure  is,  for 
they  have  done  good  work."  Politically,  they  are  independent  and 
democratic,  anxious  to  make  their  own  laws  and  willing  to  abide 
by  them,  loyal  to  their  chosen  rulers  and  magistrates,  patriotically 
living  for  their  country  in  times  of  peace  and  dying  for  it  in  times 
of  war.  Linguistically,  they  are  Teutons  of  the  purest  type,  and 
their  written  language  as  well  as  its  dialects,  is  clear,  strong,  beau- 
tiful, extremely  simple,  yet  fully  adequate  to  express  the  widest 
range  of  thought  and  feeling.  Culturally,  they  have  from  the 
dawn  of  their  history  been  far  advanced  in  civilization  and  have 
contributed  liberally  to  art,  science  and  literature,  affecting  the 
spiritual  uplift  and  the  material  progress  of  the  world. 


34  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The  history  of  Norway  is  a  record  of  war  as  well  as  peace, 
of  course ;  but  it  is  to  be  noted  that  most  of  the  wars  are  either 
in  behalf  of  personal  independence  and  de- 
Their  History  mocracy    or    in   behalf   of    laws   and   institu- 

tions that  safeguard  individual  rights  and  the 
stability  of  the  nation.  Norway's  place  in  history  is,  then,  a  little 
land,  putting  up  a  great  fight  for  individual  freedom,  democratic 
government,  protection  of  fundamental  institutions  and  loyal 
obedience  to  constituted  authority. 

We  do  not  want  to  say  that  the  Norwegian  is  perfect  and  that 
he  has  no  weaknesses.  He  has  weaknesses  aplenty,  and  his  very 
strength  has  often  become  a  weakness  to  such  a  degree  as  to  pre- 
vent him  from  making  the  mark  in  the  world  that  he  should 
make.  For  example,  his  love  of  independence  has  frequently 
prevented  him  from  uniting  with  others  in  greater  undertakings. 
It  was  a  long  and  bloody  task,  that  of  uniting  Norway  under  one 
king.  Many  a  brave  Viking,  many  a  hardy  emigrant,  has  left 
Norway  for  good,  in  order  to  give  his  strength  to  some  other  land, 
just  because  he  would  not  give  up  any  of  his  personal  freedom  in 
Norway.  But  for  the  petty  quarreling  and  extreme  individuality 
of  the  Norwegians,  Norway  might  early  have  been  one  of  the 
largest  and  mightiest  empires  of  the  world.  Norway  is  not  counted 
as  one  of  the  great  world  powers,  not  only  because  it  is  small  in 
size,  but  because  it  does  not  develop  any  great  enterprise.  It  has 
prided  itself  too  much  on  past  achievements.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  excessive  respect  for  constituted  authority  has  not  been  an  un- 
mixed blessing  for  Norway  and  the  Norwegians.  They  have 
in  consequence  often  been  too  modest  and  submissive.  They  sub- 
mitted to  a  foreign  yoke  600  years,  sweetly  dreaming  about  better 
days  coming.  They  had  so  much  respect  for  law  and  order  that 
they  did  not  like  to  protest  at  unjust  laws  and  tyrannical  govern- 
ments. Norway  has  therefore  never  had  a  real  riot  or  revolution, 
and  it  often  happens  that  the  Norwegian  in  his  heart  has  the  moral 
firmness  of  a  Brand,  but  in  his  life  he  has  the  moral  inertia  of  a 
Peer  Gynt. 

In  spite  of  its  shortcomings,  Norway  has  secured  an  honorable 
place  in  history,  and  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Norway  every- 
where should  be  justly  proud  of  their  lineage. 

Concerning  the  place  of  Norway  in  history,  DeChaillu  says : 
"This  country,  embracing  nearly  sixteen  degrees  in  latitude,  is 
inhabited  by  a  flaxen-haired  and  blue-eyed  race  of  men — brave, 
simple,  honest  and  good.  They  are  descendants  of  the  Norsemen 
and  of  the  Vikings,  who  in  the  days  of  old,  when  Europe  was  de- 
graded by  the  chains  of  slavery,  were  the  only  people  that  were 
free,  and  were  governed  by  the  laws  they  themselves  made;  and, 
when  emerging  from  their  rockbound  and  stormy  coasts  for  dis- 


The  Norwegians  35 

tant  lands,  for  war  or  conquest,  were  the  embodiment  of  courage 
and  daring  by  land  and  sea.  They  have  left  to  this  day  an  indel- 
ible impression  of  their  character  in  the  countries  they  overran, 
and  in  which  they  settled ;  and  England  is  indebted  for  the  free- 
dom she  possesses  and  the  manly  qualities  of  her  people — their  rov- 
ing disposition,  their  love  of  the  sea,  and  of  conquest  in  distant 
lands — to  this  admixture  of  Scandinavian  blood,  which,  through 
hereditary  transmission,  makes  her  prominent  as  descended  chiefly 
from  Anglo-Scandinavians  and  not  Anglo-Saxons." 

Boyesen  writes  in  his  "Story  of  Norway" :  "It  is  these  con- 
quering Vikings  who  have  demonstrated  the  historic  mission  of 
Norway,  and  doubly  indemnified  the  world  for  the  misery  brought 
upon  it.  The  ability  to  endure  discipline  without  loss  of  self- 
respect,  voluntary  subordination  for  mutual  benefit,  and  the  power 
of  orderly  organization,  based  upon  these  qualities,  these  are  the 
contributions  of  the  Norse  Vikings  to  the  political  life  of  Europe 
....  The  breath  of  new  life  which  the  Vikings  infused  into 
history  lives  today  in  Norway,  in  England  and  in  America." 


36 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


A   Viking  Boat 

Chapter  II 
THE  VIKING  EXPEDITIONS 

For  the  first  eight  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  the  Norseman 
is  practically  hid  from  our  view,  quietly  attending  to  his  own 
business  way  up  there  in  his  remote  mountain  home.  Then  sud- 
denly, in  the  role  of  a  Viking,  he  burst  upon  the  rest  of  Europe, 
like  a  tornado,  spreading  destruction  in  his  path.  The  Viking 
Age  had  come.  It  lasted  for  three  hundred  years  or  more  (800- 
1100). 

The  name  Viking  is  thought  by  some  to  mean  sea-king,  from 
the  fact  that  many  of  the  chiefs  of  these  expeditions  were  of  royal 
birth — petty  kings  who  refused  to  submit  to  Harald  the  Fair- 
haired  and  his  successors  in  their  attempts  to  unify  Norway  under 
one  head.  The  name  is  more  properly  derived  from  their  habit 
of  leaving  their  boats  in  the  viks,  or  inlets,  along  the  coast  when 
they  pounced  down  upon  a  countryside  to  plunder  it. 

What  caused  the  Viking  movement?  There  were  various 
causes,  some  of  them  immediate,  others  more  deep-seated.  There 
were  several  kinds  of  Viking  cruises.  Some  of  them  were  ir- 
regular plundering  expeditions,  caused  by  the  desire  for  adventure 
and  booty.  It  was  hard  at  best  to  make  a  living  in  Norway,  and  it 
seemed  much  easier  to  go  off  on  a  Viking  raid  and  come  back 
rich  in  plunder.  Besides,  such  a  trip  was  very  interesting  and 
thrilling — it  came  to  be  considered  perfectly  honorable  and  a  nec- 
essary part  of  one's  education.     Some  of  the  expeditions  were 


The  Viking  Expeditions  37 

well-planned  military  campaigns,  numbering  hundreds  of  ships, 
for  the  purpose  of  conquest.  Other  expeditions  were  peace- 
able commercial  ventures,  transporting  goods  of  merchandise 
from  one  port  to  another.  Still  others  represent  an  exodus  from 
Norway,  an  exodus  of  people  who  were  unwilling  to  submit  to  an 
overlord.  Rather  than  give  up  their  personal  independence,  they 
would  leave  their  beloved  country  and  go  to  some  far-off  land 
of  their  own  choice.  "The  chief  cause,"  says  Haskins,  "was 
doubtless  that  which  lies  back  of  the  colonizing  movements  in 
all  ages — the  growth  of  population  and  the  need  of  room."  "Over- 
population," thinks  Leach,  "is  the  simplest  explanation  of  the 
Viking  madness."  Coman  and  Kendall  write  thus  :  "In  the  course 
of  the  ninth  century  the  people  seem  to  have  grown  too  numer- 
ous for  the  resources  of  the  scant  coast-lands,  and  the  more  enter- 
prising spirits  set  out  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  the  richer  realms 
to  the  south." 

Gjerset  concludes  :  "In  the  Scandinavian  countries,  with  their 
limited  area  of  tillable  soil,  and  their  extensive  seacoast,  a  sea- 
faring life  was  necessitated  from  the  start,  which  produced  a  hardy 
and  energetic  race,  and  fostered  the  spirit  of  daring  and  adventure 

which  expresses   itself   in  the  whole  movement The 

young  men  were  partly  encouraged,  partly  driven  by  necessity,  to 
seek  fortune  on  expeditions  to  foreign  countries.  Led  by  love  of 
adventure,  and  encouraged  by  the  prospects  of  wealth  and  fame, 
they  flocked  to  the  standards  of  the  Viking  chieftains  in  such  num- 
bers that  the  movement  soon  became  a  migration,  and  extensive 

campaigns  were  waged  for  conquest  and  colonization 

It  is  an  error  often  repeated  that  the  Vikings  came  to  foreign  lands 
as  bands  of  adventurers,  married  women  there,  and  soon  forgot 
their  customs  and  language.  As  a  rule  they  brought  their  families 
with  them,  and  settlers,  both  men  and  women,  came  to  the  new 
colony  as  soon  as  it  was  safely  established.  The  social  organiza- 
tion of  the  home  country  was  reproduced  in  the  colonies,  and  there 
is  ample  evidence  to  show  that  the  Vikings  clung  to  their  own  cus- 
toms and  national  identity  with  a  tenacity  not  unworthy  of  so 
proud  a  race." 

The  Viking  movement  affected  all  Scandinavia,  not  Norway 
only.  The  Swedes  naturally  directed  their  attention  mainly  to 
the  east;  the  Norwegians  and  Danes,  mainly  to  the  south  and 
west.  In  the  chronicles  of  the  times  little  distinction  was  made 
between  these  free-booters.  There  were  Danes  and  Swedes  as 
well  as  Norsemen  in  the  raids  on  France,  still  in  the  French  litan- 
ies they  are  all  called  by  one  name — Northmen.  There  were  Norse- 
men and  Swedes  as  well  as  Danes  in  the  raids  on  England,  yet 
the  English  chroniclers  generally  call  them  all  Danes.  With 
respect  to  England  it  should  be  remembered  that  England  had 


38 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


twice  been  conquered  and  governed  by  people  from  Denmark. 
The  Angles  and  Jutes  came  from  Denmark  in  the  fifth  century — 
the  Angles  (after  whom  England  is  named)  came  from  southern 
Denmark,  and  the  Jutes  came  from  northern  Denmark.  Saxo 
Grammaticus,  in  the  twelfth  century,  begins  his  history  of  the 
Danes  by  relating  that  Denmark  was   founded  by  two  brothers, 

Dan  and  A  n  g  u  1,  and 
that  A  n  g  u  1  was  the 
father  of  the  English. 
"It  is  evident,"  says 
Mallet  in  his  "North- 
ern Antiquities,"  "that 
two-thirds  of  the  con- 
querors of  Great  Brit- 
ain came  from  Den- 
mark; so  that  when  the 
Danes  again  infested 
England  about  three  or 
four  hundred  years  af- 
ter, and  finally  conquer- 
ed it  toward  the  latter 
end  of  the  tenth  century, 
they  waged  war  with  the 
descendants  of  their  own 
ancestors."  This  will 
illustrate  why  the  Eng- 
lish preferred  to  apply 
the  name  Dane  to  the 
Vikings,  even  in  in- 
Norse  Settlements  in  Great  Britain  stances  when  they  came 

(From   L.    M.   Larson's   "History  of   Eng-  from   Norway  instead  of 

land     and     the     British     Commonwealth."  t-.  ■, 

Copyrighted  by  Henry  Holt  and  Co.,  New  .Denmark. 
York.) 


1.    Great  Britain 

The  expeditions  of  the  Norsemen  took  two  main  directions — 
to  the  south  and  to  the  west.  The  southward  expeditions  touched 
along  the  eastern  coasts  of  Scotland  and  England  and  the  western 
shores  of  the  continent,  as  far  south  as  Africa  and  Italy.  The 
westward  expeditions  stopped  at  the  Shetland  and  Orkney  Islands, 
and  then  either  went  on  south  to  the  Hebrides  and  Scotland,  and 
then  on  to  England,  Wales,  Ireland,  and  even  to  France,  Portugal, 
Spain,  and  the  Mediterranean ;  or,  it  went  west  to  the  Faroes,  Ice- 
land, Greenland  and  Vinland. 


The  Viking  Expeditions  39 

The  Shetlands  are  an  island  group  of  117  islands  about  175 
miles  to  the  northeast  of  Scotland.  They  have  a  total  area  of 
560  sq.  miles  and  a  population  of  about  30,000. 
Shetlands,  Orkneys,  They  were  discovered  and  settled  by  the  Nor- 
Hebrides  and  Man  wegians  as  early  as  700  A.  D.,  and  belonged  to 
them  until  1471,  when  they  were  sold  to  Scot- 
land by  the  Danes  for  a  song.  Old  Norse  was  spoken  on  the  islands 
for  over  1100  years.  According  to  Jakob  Jacobsen,  the  English 
dialect  now  in  use  on  the  islands  has  in  it  an  admixture  of  not 
less  than  10,000  Norse  words.  The  population  is  still  mainly 
Norwegian  in  race  and  customs. 

The  Orkneys  are  an  island  group  of  approximately  75  islands 
just  off  the  northeast  coast  of  Scotland.  They  have  a  total  area 
of  390  sq.  miles  and  a  population  of  over  25,000.  They  were 
settled  by  the  Norwegians  as  early  as  the  Shetlands.  They  were 
governed  as  a  dependency  of  Norway  by  Norwegian  jarls  (earls) 
until  1471  when  they  were  pawned  by  Christian  I  of  Denmark 
to  Scotland,  but  never  redeemed.  The  people  of  these  islands  have 
also  maintained  until  the  present  day  their  Norse  character,  race, 
language,  customs,  etc.  Their  English  dialect  is  strongly  marked 
by  Norwegian  words  and  accentuation.  They  say,  for  example : 
"luk  the  grind"  for  "shut  the  gate."  One  of  the  earls  of  the 
Orkney  Islands  was  Thorfinn,  who  settled  in  Yorkshire,  England, 
in  1030.  He  was  founder  of  the  Washington  family  in  England, 
from  which  George  Washington  sprang.  Welles'  genealogy  traces 
Washington  18  centuries.  In  Denmark,  70  B.  C. — 735 ;  in  Nor- 
way, 735-900;  in  the  Orkneys,  900-1030;  in  England,  1030-1659; 
in  America,  1659-1799. 

The  Hebrides  are  an  island  group  of  521  islands  to  the  west 
of  Scotland,  comprising  2,812  sq.  miles  and  about  100,000  people. 
The  Norwegians  colonized  the  islands  in  the  ninth  century.  They 
were  annexed  to  Norway  by  Harald  the  Fairhaired  and  ruled  by 
local  chiefs,  jarls  and  petty  kings.  In  1263  they  were  wrested 
from  Norway  by  Alexander  III  of  Scotland,  and  in  1471  they 
were  formally  ceded  to  Scotland  by  Christian  I  of  Denmark. 

The  Isle  of  Man  lies  between  England  and  Ireland,  is  22 
sq.  miles  in  area,  and  numbers  a  little  over  50,000  inhabitants.  It 
was  early  settled  by  Celts,  chiefly  Welshmen,  but  the  Norwegians 
were  in  the  ascendency  during  the  Viking  Age.  Harald  the  Fair- 
haired  made  an  expedition  to  the  island  and  annexed  it  to  Norway. 
Magnus  Law-Mender  ceded  it  to  Scotland  in  1266.  The  influence 
of  the  Vikings  in  the  island  can  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  present 
constitution  of  the  island  dates  back  to  the  Viking  occupancy. 


40  Nonvegian  People  in  America 

The  Norsemen  early  made  settlements  in  Scotland,  especially 
along  the  northern  and  western  coasts.    They  entered  the  land  also 
from   the  east,   by   sea,   and    from  the  south, 
Scotland  where  they  had  mighty  settlements  in  north- 

ern England.  When  the  Norsemen  first  be- 
gan to  settle  in  Scotland,  that  country  was  not  yet  organized  into 
a  central  kingdom.  There  were  several  Celtic  tribes,  with  a  poli- 
tical organization  that  resembled  a  rude  confederacy.  The  com- 
ing of  the  Vikings  forced  the  Picts  and  Scots  to  form  a  more  per- 
fect union  for  the  common  defence  of  their  country.  The  Nor- 
wegians had  a  good  foothold  in  Scotland  for  over  1,000  years, 
and  their  language  was  spoken  there  during  that  period.  Mar- 
garet, "Maid  of  Norway,"  was  the  heiress  of  the  crown  of 
Scotland,  but  she  died  as  she  was  enroute  to  Scotland  (1284). 
Another  Margaret,  daughter  of  Christian  I  of  Denmark,  king  of 
Norway,  became  the  wife  of  King  James  III  of  Scotland  (1468). 
The  Danish  king  was  supposed  to  give  a  marriage  dower,  amount- 
ing to  $24,000.  As  he  was  unable  to  pay  this  amount,  he  bor- 
rowed the  money,  giving  the  Shetlands,  Orkneys  and  Hebrides  as 
security.  Thereby  Norway  lost  these  ancient  dependencies.  The 
Norsemen  have  left  a  deep  and  lasting  imprint  on  Scotland — 
on  the  race,  language,  literature,  art,  customs,  beliefs.  According 
to  George  Henderson,  in  his  "Norse  Influence  on  Celtic  Scotland," 
this  influence  has  often  been  overlooked  and  belittled.  "Carlyle 
once  called  the  Highlanders  a  Norse  breed,"  says  Henderson,  "and 
he  was  in  a  rough  way  nearer  the  truth  than  many  imagine." 

In  Ireland  they  appeared  as  early  as  803,  plundering  churches 
and  monasteries.    In  826  they  made  their  first  permanent  settle- 
ment, soon  to  be  followed  by  numerous  other 
Ireland  colonies   in    many    parts    of    the   island,    espe- 

cially along  the  east  coast.  In  836  Tor- 
gils  became  king  of  the  Norsemen  in  Ireland.  In  840  he  founded 
Dublin  (Dyflinn)  and  soon  afterward  Limerick  (Hlymrik)  was 
also  established  as  a  thriving  Norwegian  city.  Norse  kings  reign- 
ed in  Dublin  in  unbroken  succession  for  nearly  400  years,  until 
1200.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  fighting  with  the  Irish,  and  at 
times  the  whole  land  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Norsemen.  The 
Norsemen  established  in  Ireland  their  social  order  and  laws,  and 
in  return  accepted  Christianity.  From  Ireland  they  made  warlike 
expeditions  into  England  and"  France  and  carried  on  a  peaceable 
commerce  with  the  lands  of  southern  Europe.  According  to  Gjer- 
set,  the  downfall  of  the  Vikings  in  Ireland  is  connected  chiefly 
with  the  name  of  Brian  Borumba,  the  greatest  of  Irish  kings. 
He  slew  King  Ivar  of  Limerick  and  made  himself  king  over  the 
southern  half  of  the  land.     Later  he  defeated  King  Olav  Kvaar- 


The  Viking  Expeditions  41 

an  of  Dublin  and  made  himself  high-king  of  all  Ireland.  In  the 
Battle  of  Clontarf,  known  as  the  Brian  battle,  April  23,  1014, 
the  last  great  conflict  between  the  two  races  was  fought,  in  which 
4,000  Irish  and  7,000  Norsemen  lost  their  lives.  The  Norsemen 
continued  to  rule  in  Dublin  and  to  occupy  the  same  cities  and  ter- 
ritories as  before,  but  their  political  power  had  been  destroyed 
in  the  Brian  battle.  Meanwhile,  during  the  300-400  years  of  their 
stay  in  Ireland,  they  had  been  gradually  intermarrying  with  the 
Irish  and  becoming  part  and  parcel  of  the  Irish  people.  When 
the  Anglo-Norman  armies  came  to  Ireland  in  1169-1171,  they 
met  with  little  resistance,  except  in  the  fortified  Norse  towns.  But 
as  there  was  no  national  government  and  no  general  leadership, 
the  conquest  was  easily  accomplished.  Viking  dominion  in  Ireland 
was  at  an  end  after  400  years  of  varied  success.  Traces  of  the 
Norwegian  occupancy  of  Ireland  are  still  numerous  in  the  names 
of  places  and  persons,  and  in  the  customs  of  the  people.  It  has 
been  claimed  that  all  the  red  heads  in  Ireland  are  descended  from 
Norse  stock.  Our  own  William  Jennings  Bryan,  thrice  a  candi- 
date for  the  presidency  of  the  United  States,  is  thought  to  be  a 
descendant  of  Viking  Norwegian  stock  that  came  to  Ireland  pos- 
sibly via  Iceland.     He  himself  says  he  does  not  know. 

There  was  an  almost  uninterrupted  stream  of  Norsemen  to 
England  and  Wales  from  787,  when  they  sacked  Lindisfarne,  to 

1066,  when  King  Harald  of  Norway  fell  at 
England  and  Wales    Stamford     Bridge.     Like     the     Danes,     they 

came  first  to  plunder,  later  to  possess,  and,  if 
possible,  to  rule.  They  invaded  the  land  from  all  sides  and,  to- 
gether with  their  Danish  kinsmen,  pressed  the  natives,  both  Celt 
and  Anglo-Saxon,  hard.  They  forced  the  Welsh  into  their  moun- 
tain fastnesses  and  the  Anglo-Saxons  into  the  forests  of  southern 
Britain.  Alfred  of  Wessex  and  Rhodri  of  Wales,  both  surnamed 
the  Great,  tried  to  organize  the  native  forces  against  the  invaders. 
In  876  Rhodri  was  a  fugitive  in  Ireland ;  in  878  Alfred  was  in  hid- 
ing in  Athelney,  and  was  forced  to  make  the  treaty  of  Wedmore. 
By  the  terms  of  this  treaty  the  invaders  withdrew  from  southern 
England,  and  secured  the  right  from  Alfred  to  govern  the  north- 
ern half  of  England  according  to  the  laws  of  the  Danes,  hence, 
this  part  of  England  was  called  Danelaw.  This  gave  peace  to  the 
land,  so  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  were  left  to  grow  strong  and 
united,  able  in  time  to  defeat  the  invaders  and  rule  the  whole  land. 
But  a  century  after  Alfred  the  Great,  a  new  series  of  Viking 
invasions  began  which  ended  in  a  complete  conquest  of  England, 
by  Sweyn,  King  of  Denmark,  in  1012.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Canute  the  Great,  greatly  beloved  in  England  and  Denmark  alike. 
After  Canute's  death,  in  1035,  two  of  his  sons  reigned  briefly,  and 


42  Norwegian  People  in  America 

then  the  crown  went  back  to  the  Saxon  rulers,  in  1042.  In  1066 
they  were  in  turn  forced  to  hand  it  over  to  the  Norman  conquerors. 

It  is  quite  customary  even  for  historians  to  overlook  or  belittle 
the  influence  of  the  Danes  and  Norsemen  in  England  and  Wales. 
Edwards,  in  his  "Story  of  Wales,"  calls  these  light-haired  Scan- 
dinavians the  "black  Norse  nations."  These  Scandinavians  in  the 
course  of  1,000  years  or  more  of  close  contact,  at  times  hostile, 
oftener  neighborly  and  friendly,  gradually  mingled  with  the  Welsh- 
men and  contributed  much  to  the  race  and  its  culture.  Yet  Ed- 
wards does  not  give  them  one  word  of  credit.  Larned,  in  his 
"History  of  England,"  says  :  "England  was  little  affected  by  any- 
thing which  the  Danes  brought  in ;  since  the  two  peoples  were  sub- 
stantially of  one  blood,  and  their  institutions,  customs  and  lan- 
guage were  closely  alike."  But  the  influence  of  the  invaders  was 
not  small.  Their  presence  united  the  Anglo-Saxons.  The  Anglo- 
Saxons  were  invigorated  by  them.  They  contributed  much  to  the 
language  and  the  laws  of  the  land.  Bradley,  in  his  "Making  of 
English,"  (56)  points  out  that  the  place  names  and  modern  dialects 
in  England  tell  us  that  in  some  districts  of  England  the  population 
must  at  times  have  been  far  more  largely  Scandinavian  than  Eng- 
lish. The  Pilgrim  Fathers  and  John  Washington,  ancestor  of  our 
first  president,  came  from  the  Danelaw. 

It  is  quite  customary  also  for  historians  to  magnify  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Normans  on  England.  Welles  has  traced  the  geneal- 
ogy of  George  Washington  through  the  English  Records  (the 
Common  Pleas  Rolls)  back  to  a  Norseman  who  came  from  the 
Orkney  Islands.  The  pedigree  which  he  has  published  he  could 
establish  by  legal  evidence.  Washington  Irving,  on  the  other  hand, 
in  his  "Life  of  Washington,"  thinks  that  Washington  came  orig- 
inally from  Normandy.  But,  the  Normans  also  were  Norsemen, 
the  name  Norman  being  a  softening  of  the  name  Northman.  Nor- 
mandy was  peopled  by  Norse  Vikings  in  the  same  way  as  England 
was,  and  it  makes  very  little  difference  whether  these  Vikings 
came  directly  to  England  or  by  the  way  of  Normandy. 

As  an  example  of  what  the  historians  say  regarding  the 
results  of  the  Norman  conquest,  the  following  from  Mont- 
gomery is  given  as  one  of  the  most  modest  summaries:  "1.  It 
was  not  the  subjugation  of  the  English  by  a  different  race,  but 
rather  a  victory  won  for  their  advantage  by  a  branch  of  their 
own  race.  It  brought  England  into  closer  contact  with  a 
higher  civilization  of  the  continent,  introduced  fresh  intellectual 
stimulus,  and  gave  to  the  Anglo-Saxons  a  more  progressive 
spirit.  2.  It  modified  the  English  language  by  the  influence  of 
the  Norman-French  element,  thus  giving  it  a  greater  flexibility, 
refinement  and  elegance  of  expression."  Montgomery  adds 
also  the  following  results   from  the   Norman  conquest :     It  im- 


The  Viking  Expeditions  43 

proved  architecture,  established  the  feudal  system,  re-organized 
the  people,  put  an  end  to  the  Viking  invasions,  created  a  strong 
monarcmal  government,  and  enforced  a  partial  obedience  to  law. 

2.    Continental  Europe 

During  the  Viking  Age  practically  all  Europe  was  made  to 
feel  that  the  Scandinavian  vikings  were  to  be  reckoned  with. 
On  the  continent,  as  in  Great  Britain,  the  lands  were  first  rav- 
aged for  plunder  and  then  colonized  for  permanent  habitations. 
The  Elbe,  the  Weser,  the  Rhine,  the  Scheldt,  the  Meuse,  the 
Somme,  the  Seine,  the  Loire,  the  Garonne,  the  Guadalquivir, 
the  Rhone,  and  other  streams  were  open  highways  by  which  the 
long  boats  of  the  Norsemen  approached  the  rich  farm  lands  and 
populous  cities  of  the  interior.  Smoking  houses  and  bloody 
battlefields  marked  their  track.  They  frequently  pillaged  and  even 
burnt  Paris,  Amiens,  Orleans,  Poitiers,  Bordeaux,  Toulouse, 
Nantes  and  Tours.  It  is  told  of  Charlemagne  (742-814),  ruler 
of  all  the  Christian  lands  in  western  Europe,  that  he  wept  when 
he  heard  of  the  havoc  the  Vikings  were  already  causing  and 
predicted  the  ruin  of  his  empire.  In  the  litany  service,  as  stated, 
the  terrified  clergy  inserted  a  special  prayer  for  protection  from 
the  fury  of  the  Northmen. 

Normandy-  was  an  ancient  province  of  France,  a  trifle  larger 
than  Massachusetts.  This  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Norsemen 
so  completely  as  to  take  from  them  its  name. 
Normandy  The   first   mention   of   their   coming   to    Nor- 

mandy was  in  841,  when  they  sailed  up 
the  Seine  to  Paris.  In  911  King  Charles  the  Simple  granted 
the  province  to  Rolf  Ganger,  leader  of  the  Northmen.  At  the 
same  time  he  gave  Rolf  permission  to  plunder  Brittany.  Rolf 
accepted  Christianity  and  became  a  good  ruler.  It  is  related 
that  Rolf,  according  to  feudal  custom,  should  kiss  the  king's 
foot  as  a  token  that  he  would  be  the  king's  vassal.  But  he  re- 
fused, and  ordered  one  of  his  followers  to  do  so  in  his  stead. 
This  man  lifted  the  king's  foot  to  his  mouth  so  that  the  king 
fell  backward,  and  great  merriment  resulted. 

Under  Rolf's  successors  Normandy  became  the  most  pros- 
perous and  progressive  land  in  the  Feudal  Era.  Feudalism, 
chivalry,  literature,  learning,  pilgrimages,  crusades,  Christian- 
ity and  civilization,  all  seemed  to  thrive  better  in  Norman  soil 
than  anywhere  else  on  the  continent.  In  1066,  William,  a 
Norman  duke,  crossed  the  Channel  and  conquered  England.  In 
1154,  the  Norman  Empire,  consisting  of  England,  Ireland  and 
western  France,  was  established;  in  1130,  a  Norman  kingdom 
was  established  in  Sicily  and  southern  Italy.     In  the  First  Cru- 


44  Norwegian  People  in  America 

sade  (1096-1099)  Robert  II,  Duke  of  Normandy,  was  easily 
one  of  the  greatest  leaders.  The  Latin  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem 
was  founded  and  at  its  head  was  placed  the  Norman  Godfrey, 
the  most  valiant  and  devoted  of  the  crusader  knights.  Tancred, 
another  famous  Norman  knight,  was  placed  in  charge  of  other 
parts  of  Palestine.  Richard,  the  Lion  Hearted,  King  of  England, 
of  Norman  descent,  was  the  central  figure  in  the  Third  Crusade 
(1189-1192).  In  all  these  exploits  they  still  bore  the  stamp  of 
their  original  Norse  character — physical  strength,  ready  wit, 
loyalty,  rugged  virtue,  religious  zeal,  independence,  submission 
to  chosen,  constituted  authority,  ability  to  rule,  surpassing 
courage. 

Myers  gives  the  Normans  the   following  tribute :     "The  his- 
tory of  the  Normans  is  simply  a  continuation  of  the  story  of  the 

Northmen When  first  we  met  them  in  the  ninth  century 

they  were  pagans ;  now  they  are  Christians.  Then  they  were 
rough,  wild,  danger-loving  corsairs ;  now  they  are  become  the 
most  cultured,  polished  and  chivalrous  people  in  Europe.  But 
the  restless,  careless,  daring  spirit  that  drove  the  Norse  sea-kings 
forth  upon  the  waves  in  quest  of  adventure  and  booty,  still  stirs 
in  the  breasts  of  their  descendants.  They  have  simply  changed 
from  heathen  Vikings,  delighting  in  the  wild  life  of  sea-rover 
and  pirate,  into  Christian  knights,  eager  for  pilgrimages  and 
crusades." 

The  Norse  Vikings  pressed  on  farther  south.  The  Norsemen 
in  Ireland  traded  with  western  France  and  established  a  perma- 
nent colony  on  the  Loire  in  A.  D.  877,  under 
Southern  Europe  the  rule  of  Dublin.  They  sailed  along  the 
coasts  of  Spain  and  the  Mediterranean  lands, 
sometimes  plundering,  at  other  times  trading.  For  example 
in  853,  as  they  sailed  along  the  west  coast  of  Spain  (now 
Portugal),  they  attacked  Lisbon,  plundered  Cadiz,  captured  the 
suburbs  of  Seville,  and  fought  many  battles  with  the  Saracens. 
In  866,  a  Norse  fleet  sailed  around  Spain  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Rhone  and  then  made  an  attack  on  the  coast  of  Italy,  where 
they  captured  Luna,  mistaking  it  for  Rome  itself.  Again  in 
1107,  when  Sigurd  the  Crusader,  King  of  Norway,  with  ten 
thousand  volunteer  countrymen  at  his  command,  was  on  his  way 
to  Palestine,  he  defeated  a  Moorish  fleet  on  the  west  coast  of 
Spain,  and  on  two  Mediterranean  islands,  Formentera  and  Ma- 
jorca, and  eventually  reached  Palestine.  The  Norsemen  in  Pal- 
estine were  as  mighty  in  battle  as  their  brothers,  the  Normans. 
Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  Norman  kingdom  of  Si- 
cily, which  was  really  a  Norse  kingdom.  When  King  Sigurd 
visited  Duke  Roger  of  Sicily,  who  was  married  to  the  widow  of 


The  Viking  Expeditions  45 

Canute  the  Great,  king  of  Denmark  and  England,  he  was  treated 
as  a  kinsman. 

Norsemen  often  joined  the  Swedes  in  their  expeditions  to  the 
East,  and  often  they  went  alone.    They  approached  Finland  and 

Russia  from  the  north,  and  forced  the  Finns 
Eastern  Europe  to   pay   yearly   trihute    in   walrus,    seal,    whale 

and  fur.  All  the  lands  along  the  Baltic  were 
visited  by  the  Vikings.  In  862,  Rurik,  a  Swede,  organized  a 
Russian  kingdom,  with  his  capital  at  Novgorod.  To  this 
place  many  a  Viking  came,  plying  his  trade.  Two  of  the 
kings  of  Norway  spent  a  considerable  part  of  their  youth  here 
in  the  service  of  the  Russian  king.  One  of  these  was  Olaf 
Trygvasson.  who  later  when  on  Viking  trips  to  Germany,  Den- 
mark, Holland  and  England,  became  converted  to  Christianity, 
and  then  returned  to  Norway  to  evangelize  it.  The  other  was 
Harald  Sigurdsson,  who  first  held  command  of  the  Russian  ar- 
mies against  the  Bulgarians  and  Greeks,  then  was  captain  of  the 
Varangians,  the  foreign  body-guard  of  the  Greek  emperors  at 
Constantinople,  then  returned  to  Norway  and  won  the  title 
"Hard-Ruler"  on  account  of  his  ruthlessness  in  breaking  the 
power  of  the  tribal  aristocracy,  and  finally  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Stamford  Bridge  in  England,  in  1066.  That  Norway 
was  favorably  known  in  far-off  Greece  may  be  seen  from  the 
fact  that  as  late  as  1195  the  Greek  emperor.  Alexius,  sent  a 
Norseman  to  Norway  for  more  troops  to  help  him  out.  In  1222 
a  Norwegian  pilgrim  followed  the  well -beaten  route  through 
Russia  and  the  Black  Sea  to  Constantinople  and  the  Holy  Land. 
3.  The  Faroes  and  Iceland 
The  great  colonial  empire  of  Norway  extended  westward  to 
the  Faroe  Islands,  Iceland  and  beyond — to  Greenland  and  Vin- 
land  the  Good.  Iceland  may  well  be  considered  the  most  import- 
ant of  the  Old  Norse  colonies.  Here  grew  up  an  active  civiliza- 
tion, fostering  the  idea  and  ideals  of  independence,  learning, 
literature,  religion  and  brave  deeds.  Here  the  Old  Norse  race, 
language  and  spirit  have  been  preserved  to  this  day  in  their 
purest  forms.  The  Icelanders  are  to  this  day  Norwegians,  and 
their  literature  is  Norwegian.  As  Samuel  Laing.  the  Icelandic 
scholar,  says :  "The  sagas,  although  composed  by  natives  of  Ice- 
land, are  properly  Norwegian  literature.  The  events,  persons, 
manners,  language,  belong  to  Norway ;  and  they  are  produc- 
tions which  are  strongly  stamped  with  the  nationality  of  char- 
acter and  incident." 


46  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The  Faroes  are  a  group  of  twenty-one  islands,  one  hundred 
ninety  miles  northwest  of  the  Shetland  group  and  two  hundred 
fifty   miles   southeast   of   Iceland.     The    area 
The  Faroes  Js     five     hundred     and     forty     square     miles. 

The  population  is  eighteen  thousand.  The 
islands  are  mountainous,  with  thin,  scanty  soil  and  slight  vege- 
tation. Trees  can  not  grow  there  on  account  of  the  prevalent 
hurricanes.  The  islands  were  discovered  and  settled  by  the 
Norsemen  in  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century.  They  were  held 
by  Norway  until  1380  and  have  been  a  Danish  possession  ever 
since.  "The  people  are  of  Norse  descent — a  vigorous,  laborious, 
loyal  and  religious  race,  belonging  to  the  Lutheran  Church." 
They  speak  a  dialect  only  slightly  different  from  the  Old  Norse 
spoken  by  the  original  colonists  one  thousand  years  ago. 

Iceland  is  an  island  lying  up  to  the  Arctic  Circle,  six  hundred 
miles   west   of    Norway  and   two  hundred  miles   east   of   Green- 
land.     It   is   reckoned   as   a   part   of   Europe, 
Iceland  but  geographically  it  belongs  rather  to  Amer- 

ica. It  has  an  area  of  39,756  sq.  miles, 
and,  at  present,  about  100,000  people.  It  is  a  land  of  high 
mountains,  great  volcanoes,  frequent  earthquakes,  vast  lava 
deserts  and  glacial  snowfields,  nr'ghty  waterfalls,  hot  springs  and 
geysers,  cold  climate  and  rocky  soil.  Only  one-sixth  of  the  land 
is  habitable. 

According  to  Sturla's  "Landnamabok,"  Naddod,  a  Norseman, 
discovered  Iceland  in  860  A.D.,  having  lost  his  way  while  on  a 
voyage  to  the  Faroes.  According  to  Hauk's  "Landnamabok," 
Gardar,  a  Swede,  first  discovered  the  island  (in  864).  Accord- 
ing to  Ari  Thorgilsson's  "Islendingabok,"  Floke  Vilgerdsson,  a 
Norseman,  sailed  to  Iceland  from  the  Hebrides  in  870  and  gave 
the  island  its  present  name.  When  Harald  the  Fairhaired  in  872 
became  sole  master  of  Norway,  many  of  the  dissatisfied  chieftains 
sought  new  homes.  Some  went  to  Normandy,  others  to  Great 
Britain,  while  perhaps  the  greater  number  went  clear  to  Iceland. 

First  to  that  wonderful  island  went 
Norsemen    breakinsr   the    fetter ; 
With  them  from  Norway  was  liberty  sent, 
There  to  establish  it  better. 

The  island  had  already  been  occupied  by  a  few  Celtic 
Christians,  who  fled  at  the  coming  of  the  Vikings.  That 
the  immigration  to  Iceland  was  popular  can  be  seen  from  the 
fact  that  King  Harald  was  forced  to  place  a  heavy  tax  in  gold 
upon  everyone  who  set  sail  for  Iceland,  fearing  that  Norway 
might  be  depopulated.  For  nearly  a  century  the  colony  received 
fresh   additions    from   Norway.     Anderson   and   Bryce   estimate 


The  Viking  Expeditions  47 

that  the  population  at  the  close  of  the  period  of  settlement  (about 
950)  was  50,000;  Hermann  places  it  at  60,000;  while  Gjerset, 
Munch  and  Sars  place  it  more  conservatively  at  25,000. 

The  story  of  Iceland  is  very  interesting.  There  were  many 
settlements,  each  one  at  first  independent  of  the  others.  They 
tried  naturally  to  reproduce  as  far  as  possible  the  Norwegian 
social  organization  and  laws,  with  such  modifications  as  they 
found  necessary.  They  founded  a  constitutional  republic, 
"a  home  of  the  brave  and  a  land  of  the  free,"  nine  centuries  be- 
fore the  American  Declaration  of  Independence.  In  1874  Ice" 
landers  celebrated  a  millennial  of  their  republic  just  as  we  in  1876 
celebrated  a  centennial  of  ours.  They  had  their  legislative  as- 
semblies, notably  the  Althing,  in  which  all  took  part.  They  had 
their  courts  and  codified  laws.  They  were  small  in  numbers,  but 
great  in  organized  freedom.  King  Olaf  Trygvasson,  with  true 
crusading  zeal,  tried  to  make  Norway  and  its  colonies  accept 
Christianity,  and  succeeded,  in  the  year  1000,  the  year  of  his 
death.  In  1262,  after  nearly  four  centuries  of  freedom,  the 
island  was  annexed  by  Norway.  In  1380,  it  became  a  Danish 
possession.  During  the  Napoleonic  wars  it  was  captured  by 
Great  Britain,  but  ceded  back  to  Denmark  in  1815.  Since  1814 
there  has  been  a  constant  agitation  and  struggle  for  home  rule  and 
complete  independence.  In  1874,  the  Icelanders  obtained  a  new 
constitution,  and  in  1918,  by  the  Danish-Icelandic  Act  of  Union, 
Iceland  was  made  a  free  and  sovereign  state  united  with  Den- 
mark by  a  common  king.  Since  1550  the  Lutheran  faith  has 
prevailed. 

The  Icelanders  are  especially  noted  for  their  discovery  and 
colonization  of  Greenland  and  their  unique  literary  outout.  Con- 
cerning their  work  in  Greenland,  a  word  will  be  said  in  another 
place.  As  to  their  work  in  literature,  their  glory  is  like  that  of 
the  morning  sun.  From  875  to  1100  there  was  a  great  outburst 
of  oral  literature.  "Most  of  the  military  and  political  leaders 
were  also  poets,  and  they  composed  a  mass  of  lyric  poetry  .... 
much  of  which  has  been  preserved.  Narrative  prose  also  flour- 
ished, for  the  Icelander  had  a  passion  for  story-telling  and  story- 
hearing.  After  1100  A.D.  came  the  day  of  the  writers.  These 
saga-men  collected  the  material  that  for  generations  had  passed 
from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  gave  it  permament  form  in  writing. 
After  1250  came  a  rapid  and  tragic  decline.  Iceland  lost  its 
independence,  becoming  a  Norwegian  province.     Later  Norway, 

too,  fell  under  alien  rule Pestilence  and  famine  laid 

waste  the  whole  North ;  volcanic  disturbances  worked  havoc  in 
Iceland.     Literature  did  not  die,  but  it  fell  upon  evil  days." 

The  chief  collectors  and  saga-writers  were  Ssemund  Sigfus- 
son  (1056-1133)  and  Snorri  Sturlason  (1178-1241.)  Ssemund 
collected  the  poems  that  floated  among  the  people,  catching  many 


48  Norwegian  People  in  America 

of  them  from  the  lips  of  the  scalds.  His  collection  is  known  as 
the  Elder  or  Poetic  Edda.  Snorri  wrote  a  Younger,  or  Prose, 
Edda,  which  is  a  scientific  treatise  of  scaldic  versification  and 
a  survey  of  Norse  mythology.  Both  of  these  men  were  also 
historians — saga-men.  Of  Saemund's  historical  work  nothing  has 
been  preserved.  Snorri's  "Heimskringla"  is  a  collection  of 
sagas,  telling  the  story  of  the  kings  of  Norway  from  the  earliest 
times  to  1177.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest  history  books  in  the 
world,  masterful  in  outline  and  perspective,  exact  in  description 
and  reliable  in  details. 

The  saga  literature  treats  not  only  of  Norway  and  Iceland, 
but  also  of  the  Norse  settlements  in  France,  England,  Scotland, 
Ireland,  the  Shetlands,  Orkneys,  Hebrides,  Faroes,  in  Green- 
land and  America.  "It  is  in  these  Norwegian  sagas,"  says 
Samuel  Laing,  "not  in  Tacitus,  that  we  look  for  the  origin  of 
the  political  institutions  of  England."  And  it  is  in  these  sagas 
that  we  find  the  first  accounts  of  the  coming  of  the  Norwegians 
to  America. 

4.  Their  Place  in  History 
The  Viking  expeditions  occupy  at  least  one-sixth  of  the  cen- 
turies since  Christ.  During  these  centuries  the  Scandinavians 
were  everywhere.  They  ventured  out  upon  the  surging  main  ; 
in  open  boats,  without  compass,  they  sailed  across  the  untried 
seas.  Wherever  they  went  they  scattered  seeds  of  independence 
and  industry,  liberty  and  law,  vigorous  literature  and  refined 
culture.  No  country  today  has  a  higher  percentage  of  literacy 
than  have  the  Scandinavian  lands.  In  Scandinavia  there  is  full 
religious  toleration,  yet  nearly  everyone  is  a  Protestant ;  99  per 
cent  are  Lutheran. 

Norway  has  never  seriously  tried  to  establish  a  far-reaching 
empire  with  far-flung  battle  lines.  It  has  been  the  peculiar 
genius  of  the  Norwegians  to  give  themselves  to  the  countries 
which  they  have  colonized  rather  than  to  make  these  colonies  a 
part  of  a  Norwegian  empire.  In  Russia,  therefore,  the  Norwe- 
gians have  become  Russians ;  in  Italy,  Italians ;  in  Spain, 
Spaniards;  in  France,  Frenchmen;  in  England,  English;  in  Scot- 
land, Scotch;  in  Ireland,  Irish;  in  Iceland,  Icelanders;  in  Can- 
ada, Canadians  ;  in  the  United  States  of  America,  Americans. 
Everywhere  they  have  given  themselves  wholly,  and  of  their 
culture  freely,  to  the  lands  of  their  adoption. 

It  is  impossible  to  escape  noticing  that  the  countries  that  were 
settled  by  Norsemen  assumed  leadership — Great  Britain  and 
France,  in  particular.  Again,  it  is  noticeable  that  within  these 
countries  it  is  the  sections  occupied  by  the  Norsemen  that  came 
to  the  front.  Thus,  Normandy  in  France,  Northumbria  in 
England,  Dublin  in  Ireland,  etc.  William  the  Conqueror  was 
a  great-grandson   of   Rolf    Ganger,   the    Norwegian    founder   of 


The  Viking  Expeditions  49 

Normandy.  When  he  made  a  conquest  of  England,  he  met  with 
a  most  serious  opposition  from  the  men  of  Northumbria,  col- 
onists of  his  own  race.  He  drove  them  by  fire  and  sword  over 
the  border  into  Scotland,  where  their  influence  has  been  felt 
in  the  heroic  struggles  of  a  William  Wallace,  and  a  Robert 
Bruce,  and  is  reflected  in  the  persevering  character  of  the  people. 

The  influence  of  the  Normans  upon  Great  Britain  is  ad- 
mitted by  all  historians  to  have  been  very  great.  The  Normans 
were  Northmen,  their  character  like  their 
In  Great  Britain  name  being  somewhat  softened  by  intermin- 
gling with  the  French.  Concerning  the  in- 
fluence of  the  other  Northmen  on  Great  Britain;  Samuel  Laing, 
an  Englishman,  says  in  part :  "All  that  men  hope  for  of  a 
good  government  and  future  improvement  in  their  physical  and 
moral  condition,  all  that  civilized  men  enjoy  at  this  day  of  civil, 
religious  and  political  liberty — the  British  constitution,  repre- 
sentative legislature,  the  trial  by  jury,  security  of  property, 
freedom  of  mind  and  person,  the  influence  of  public  opinion  over 
the  conduct  of  public  affairs,  the  Reformation,  the  liberty  of  the 
press,  the  spirit  of  the  age — all  that  is,  or  has  been,  of  value  to 
man  in  modern  times  as  a  member  of  society,  either  in  Europe 
or  in  America,  may  be  traced  to  the  spark  left  burning  upon  our 
shores  by  the  Norwegian  barbarians."  Aug.  J.  Thebaud,  an 
Irishman,  says :  "Endowed  with  all  the  characteristics  of  the 
Scandinavian  race,  deeply  infused  with  the  blood  of  the  Danes 
and  the  Northmen,  she  (England)  has  all  the  indomitable  en- 
ergy, all  the  systematic  grasp  of  mind  and  sternness  of  purpose, 
joined  to  the  wise  spirit  of  compromise  and  conservatism  of  the 
men  of  the  far  Nor^th.  She,  of  all  nations,  has  inherited  the 
great  power  of  expansion  at  sea,  possessing  all  the  roving  pro- 
pensities of  the  old  Vikings,  and  the  spirit  of  trade,  enterprise 
and  colonization  of  those  old  Phoenicians  of  the  Arctic  Circle." 

Paul  H.  Mallet,  a  Frenchman,  writes  :     "Is  it  not  well  known 
that   the  most  flourishing  and   celebrated   states   of   Europe  owe 
originally  to  the  Northern  nations  whatever  lib- 
In  Continental  erty  they  now  enjoy,  either  in  their  constitution 

Europe  or  in  the  spirit  of  their  government?  ...   Is 

not  this,  in  fact,  the  principal  source  o£  that 
courage,  of  that  aversion  to  slavery,  of  that  empire  of  honor 
which  characterized  in  general  the  European  nations ;  and  of 
that  moderation,  of  that  easiness  of  access,  and  peculiar  atten- 
tion to  the  rise  of  humanity,  which  so  happily  distinguish  our 
sovereigns  from  the  inaccessible  and  superb  tyrants  of  Asia  ? 
The  immense  extent  of  the  Roman  Empire  had  rendered  its  con- 
stitution so   despotic  and   military,   many  of   its  emperors  were 


50  Norwegian  People  in  America 

such  ferocious  monsters,  its  Senate  was  become  so  mean-spirited 
and  vile,  that  all  elevation  of  sentiment,  everything  that  was 
noble  and  manly,  seems  to  have  been  forever  banished  from  their 
hearts  and  minds.  .  .  .  But  Nature  has  long  prepared  a  rem- 
edy for  such  great  evils,  in  that  unsubmitting,  unconquerable 
spirit  with  which  she  has  inspired  the  people  of  the  North;  and 
thus  she  made  amends  to  the  human  race  for  all  the  calamities 
which,  in  other  respects,  the  inroads  of  these  nations  and  the 
overthrowing  of  the  Roman  Empire  produced.  The  great  pre- 
rogative of  Scandinavia,  and  what  ought  to  recommend  its  in- 
habitants beyond  every  people  upon  the  earth,  is,  that  they 
afforded  the  great  resource  to  the  liberty  of  Europe, 
that  is,  to  almost  ,  all  the  liberty  that  is  among  men. 
The  North  of  Europe  is  the  forge  of  mankind.  It  is  the  forge 
of  those  instruments  which  broke  the  fetters  manufactured  in 
the  South.  It  was  there  those  valiant  nations  were  bred  who  left 
their  native  climes  to  destroy  tyrants  and  slaves,  and  so  to  teach 
men  that  Nature  having  made  them  equal,  no  reason  could  be 
assigned  for  their  becoming  dependent  but  their  mutual  hap- 
piness." 

In  speaking  of  the  Icelandic  literature,  Pliny  Miles  says : 
"When  we  consider  the  limited  population  of  the  country  and 
the  many  disadvantages  under  which  they 
In  Iceland  lived,  their  literature   is  the  most  remarkable 

on  record."  W.  Fiske  says :  "All  other 
early  Teutonic  literatures  are  in  comparison  with  the  Icelandic 
as  a  drop  in  a  bucket  of  water."  He  adds :  "For  the  English- 
speaking  races  especially  there  is  nowhere,  so  near  home,  a 
field  promising  to  the  scholar  so  rich  a  harvest."  Says  William 
Howitt :  "There  is  nothing  besides  the  Bible,  which  sits  in  a 
divine  tranquillity  of  unapproachable  nobility,  like  a  king  of  kings 

among  all  other  books, which  can  compare  in  all 

the  elements  of  greatness  with  the  Edda." 

Let  B.  F.  DeCosta,  an  American  scholar,  say  a  final  word : 
"Let  us  remember  that  in  vindicating  the  Northmen  we  honor 
those  who  not  only  gave  us  the  first  knowledge  possessed  of  the 
American  Continent,  but  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  much 
beside  that  we  esteem  valuable.  For  we  fable  in  a  great  measure 
when  we  speak  of  our  'Saxon'  inheritance ;  it  is  rather  from  the 
Northmen  that  we  have  derived  our  vital  energy,  our  freedom 
of  thought,  and,  in  a  measure  that  we  do  not  yet  suspect,     our 

strength  of  speech It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  time  is 

not  far  distant  when  the  Northmen  may  be  recognized  in  their 
right  social,  political  and  literary  characters,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  as  navigators,  assume  their  true  position  in  the  Pre- 
Columbian  discovery  of  America." 


3  I « 


%,kk 


mm 


Physical  North   America 

Chapter  III 

THE  NORSE  DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA 

Christopher  Columbus  discovered  America  in  1492.  His 
discovery  was  the  result  of  patient  and  persevering'  study  of  all 
the  geographical  references  within  his  reach,  besides  an  extra- 
ordinary ability  and  perseverance  in  carryng  out  his  plans.  We 
would  not  detract  in  any  way  from  his  well-deserved  fame. 
Nevertheless,  he  was  not  the  first  European  to  discover  America, 
and  it  is  reasonable  that  some  credit  should  be  given  also  those 
who  had  been  to  America  before  him  and  shown  him  the  way. 
The  first  Europeans  to  discover  America  were  the  Norsemen. 
By  way  of  Iceland  they  settled  Greenland  and  Vinland,  and  by 
way  of  Ireland,  they  settled  Great  Ireland. 


1.     Greenland 
Greenland  is  the  largest  island  in  the  world 
an"island-continent"  in  the  Arctic     Seas. 


Nelson  calls  it 
It  lies     between   59° 


u.  of  iu»  u& 


52  Norwegian  People  in  America 

N.  Lat.  (at  Cape  Farewell)  to  83°  N.  Lat.  (at  Cape  Jessup), 
and  is  the  most  northern  known  land.  It  is  1600  miles  north 
and  south,  and  700  miles  east  and  west,  and  has  an  area  of 
850,000  sq.  miles,  seven  times  as  large  as  Norway,  sixteen  times 
as  large  as  Wisconsin.  Its  interior  is  covered  with  an  immense 
shield-shaped  mantel  of  ice  rising  from  4000  to  11,000  ft.,  is  un- 
inhabitable and  is  appropriately  called  by  Hayes,  "The  land  of  des- 
olation." It  has  many  monster  fjords,  very  steep  and  very  deep, 
its  sides  rising  perpendicularly  from  the  sea  from  4000  to  9000 
ft.  and  discharging  numberless  icebergs,  some  of  them  ten  miles 
long  and  one  mile  deep.  The  temperature  is  arctic.  Stefansson 
calls  the  polar  regions  "The  Friendly  Arctic." 

The  habitable  coast  constitutes  a  thin  fringe  along  the  south- 
eastern and  southwestern  coasts  with  an  area  of  46,740  sq.  miles. 
The  present  population  of  about  15,000  souls  consists  mainly  of 
Eskimos,  with  a  considerable  sprinkling  of  Danes  and  half-breeds. 
The  exports  are  oil,  seal,  walrus,  whales,  skins,  feathers  and  fish. 

Greenland  lies  midway  between  Iceland  and  Labrador.  The 
greatest   distance   between   Iceland   and   Greenland   is   about   250 

miles ;  the  shortest  is  less  than  100  miles.  It 
Gunnbj0rn,  876  was    inevitable    that    the    settlers    of    Iceland 

should  find  Greenland  and  the  North  Amer- 
ican continent.  Thus  it  is  recorded  that  Gunnbjo'rn,  Ulf 
Krage's  son,  was  driven  by  a  storm  to  the  coast  of  Greenland. 
His  ship  became  ice-bound,  so  he  was  compelled  to  winter  there, 
returning  to  Iceland  in  the  spring.  This  was  in  876,  shortly  after 
Iceland  had  been  settled. 

The  memory  of  Gunnbjorn's  discovery  did  not  die.  There 
lived  a  man  in  Iceland  by  the  name  of  Erik  the  Red,  who  had 
left  his  home  in  Jsederen,  Norway,  to  es- 
EHk  the  Red,  983  cape  a  feud.  In  Iceland  a  landslide  had  dam- 
aged his  neighbor's  land,  whereupon  the 
neighbor  blamed  two  of  Erik's  slaves  and  killed  them.  Erik 
flared  up  and  killed  the  slayer.  Erik  was  outlawed  and  made  his 
home  on  Ox  Island  in  the  great  Southwestern  Broadfirth. 
There  he  got  into  trouble  with  a  friend  who  borrowed  a  pair 
of  doorposts  and  would  not  return  them.  Finally  he  went  to 
fetch  them  himself,  and  the  result  was  there  was  a  battle  in 
which  Erik  cut  down  a  man  or  two.  For  this  offence  he  was 
again  outlawed  and  driven  to  hide  in  outlying  inlands,  while  his 
enemies  hunted  diligently  to  find  him  and  slay  him.  While  a 
fugitive  and  an  exile  he  came  to  think  of  the  island  to  the  west 
that  Gunnbjo'rn  had  found.  He  sailed  out  in  search  of  it  and 
found  it.  For  three  years — the  length  of  his  sentence  into  exile 
—he  was  lost  to  the  world  and  busv*  exploring  this  island.    Rink 


The  Norse  Discoveries  of  America  53 

thinks  that  his  exploration  of  Greenland  was  so  thorough  that  it 
left  hardly  anything  for  later  explorers  to  find.  Nansen  ranks 
him  as  one  of  the  greatest  explorers  of  all  time.  After  three 
years  Erik  returned  to  Iceland.  He  called  the  land  Greenland, 
hoping  to  attract  settlers.  He  returned  the  same  year,  in  986, 
and  established  two  colonies,  the  Vestbygd  and  the  0stbygd,  both 
located  in  southwestern  Greenland.  From  that  time  until  1409, 
for  over  400  years,  there  was  an  uninterrupted  communication 
between  Greenland,  Iceland  and  Norway,  and  the  American  main- 
land, too,  for  that  matter. 

Says  William  Hovgaard :  ''Considering  that  the  Xorse  col- 
onies in  Greenland  existed  more  than  four  hundred  years,  .  .  . 
and  that  during  this  period  trade  was  kept  up,  at  least  intermit- 
tently, between  these  colonies  and  Iceland  and  Norway,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  chances  of  such  accidental  discovery  (of 
the  mainland)  were  very  great.  Moreover,  the  Norse  Green- 
landers,  who  habitually  sailed  far  to  the  north  along  the  west 
coast  of  Greenland,  may  at  times  have  been  driven  across  the 
Davis  Strait,  which  at  Holstenborg  is  only  165  miles  wide. 
Once  this  region  was  discovered,  the  intrepid  and  enterprising- 
explorers  would  hardly  hesitate  to  push  southward  along  the 
milder  climates,  where  navigation  was  far  simpler  and  less 
dangerous  than  about  Greenland,  and  where  it  was  easier  to 
obtain  means  of  sustaining  life.  The  coasts  of  America,  even 
of  Labrador  and  Newfoundland,  with  their  wealth  of  timber, 
berries,  fish,  birds  and  mammals,  must  have  appeared  an  Eldor- 
ado to  the  Greenlanders.  who  there  found  in  abundance  most  of 
the  natural  products  in  which  Greenland  was  lacking.  We  may, 
therefore,  assert  that,  even  had  the  sagas  not  contained  one  word 
of    reference   to   such   discovery,   we   should   still   be   justified    in 

concluding  that they  could  hardly  help  discovering 

America." 

Gardar  became  the  capital  of  Greenland  and  the  seat  of  a 
bishopric.  The  first  Christian  missionary  to  Greenland  was  a  son 
of  Erik  the  Red,  the  famous  Leif  the  Lucky,  discoverer  of  Yin- 
land.  He  bore  the  name  Lucky  because  he  had  saved  some  men 
on  a  shipwreck.  In  999  Leif  made  a  visit  to  Norway  and  there 
was  induced  to  accept  Christianity.  King  Olaf  Trygvasson  com- 
missioned Leif  to  Christianize  the  people  in  Greenland.  This 
became  his  life  work,  broken  only  by  a  voyage  of  discovery  to 
Vinland  in  1000.  He  had  along  with  him  priests  from  Norway. 
It  is  known  that  in  1112  Pope  Paschal  II  appointed  Eric  Knuts- 
son,  "Bishop  of  Greenland  and  Vinland  in  partibus  infidelium." 
In  1121  this  bishop  went  in  search  of  Vinland.  The  bishops 
after  him  are  mentioned  in  the  Icelandic  vellums  by  name  in 
succession  down  to  1409. 

The  intercourse  with  Greenland,  including  Vinland,  was  ter- 


54  Norwegian  People  in  America 

minated  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  principally  for 
three  reasons:  Ihe  Black  Death,  which  desolated  all  Europe  and 
eventually  reached  Greenland;  the  transfer  of  the  Norwegian 
crown  to  Denmark,  by  which  act  the  Danes  obtained  a  monopoly 
of  the  Norwegian  shipping,  and  traffic  to  Greenland  was 
stopped,  causing  the  colony  to  languish ;  the  massacre  of  the 
colonists  by  Eskimos  in  1348,  1379  and  possibly  also  after  1409. 
The  latest  record  that  we  have  ol  the  Norwegian  settlements 
in  Greenland  is  that  of  a  marriage  ceremony  in  1409  performed 
by  Endrede  Andreasson,  the  last  bishop.  In  a  letter  from  Pope 
Nicholas  V  to  the  bishops  of  Skalholt  and  Holar,  Iceland,  dated 
September  30,  1448,  he  speaks  of  Greenland  as  having  received  the 
faith  six  hundred  years  before.  He  mentions  the  attacks  of  the 
barbarians  and  urges  the  Icelanders  to  serve  them  again  with 
the  Gospel.  In  a  letter  from  Pope  Alexander  VI,  dated  1492, 
the  year  Columbus  discovered  San  Salvador,  the  sad  condition  of 
Greenland  is  reviewed  and  Matthias,  a  Benedictine  monk,  is  ap- 
pointed Bishop  of  Gardar. 

When  Hans  Egede,  a  Norwegian,  came  in  1721  to  Green- 
land,  bringing   the   Gospel   to   the   descendants   of   the   colonists, 

"who  had  become  heathen,"  he  found  only 
Hans  Egede,  1721        the  ruins   of   their  villages   and   farm  houses. 

The  settlements  had  vanished.  Only  Eskimos 
remained  to  occupy  the  land.  Though  they  were  hos- 
tile, he  settled  among  them,  enduring  severe  treatment  and 
extreme  hardships.  He  laid  the  foundation  for  the  present 
Church  of  Greenland,  which  is  Lutheran.  Greenland  is  thorough- 
ly Christianized,  with  schools  and  native  ministry  under  the  care 
of  the  Bishop  of  Zealand,  Denmark.  On  July  31,  1921,  the 
200th  anniversary  of  Egede's  landing  at  Greenland  was  cele- 
brated, this  being  one  of  the  earliest  events  and  most  successful 
undertakings  in  the  history  of  modern  foreign  missions. 

2.       VlNLAND 

Vinland  (Wineland)  is  the  old  Norse  name  for  America; 
or  rather,  it  is  that  part  of  America  which  Leif  Erikson  and 
other  colonists  from  Greenland  attempted  to  settle.  The  chief 
historical  sources  concerning  the  voyages  to  Vinland  are:  "The 
Saga  of  Erik  the  Red"  and  the  "Flat  Island  Book,"  compiled  by 
Hauk  Erlendsson  about  1334.  These  sagas  are  quite  detailed, 
but  still  not  sufficiently  so  to  identify  the  places  mentioned. 
There  is  therefore  much  division  of  opinion  as  to  where  Vinland 
lay.  J.  Leslie,  R.  Jameson,  and  H.  Murray,  for  example,  thought 
that  Vinland  was  merely  a  more  southern  point  of  Greenland, 
while  J.  P.  MacLean  suggests  the  northwestern  regions  of 
Greenland.  J.  Filson,  J.  R.  Forsteer  and  P.  H.  Mallet  located 
Vinland  in  Labrador.  D.  Crantz,  W.  Robertson  and  W.  D. 
Cooley  thought  that   Vinland   was   in   Newfoundland.     Andrew 


The  Viking  Expeditions 


55 


Fossum  and  H.  J.  Steenstrup  located  Vinland  in  the  St.  Law- 
rence Valley.  Gustav  Storm,  Juul  Dieserud  and  Knut  Gjerset 
locate  it  in  Nova  Scotia.  R.  B.  Anderson,  N.  L.  Beamish  and 
E.  N.  Horsford  represent  the  view  that  Vinland  was  in  New- 
England.  J.  V.  N.  Yates,  J.  W.  Moulton  and  Alexander  Hum- 
boldt believed  that  New  York  was  a  part  of  Vinland.  Benjamin 
Franklin,  M.  C.  Sprengel  and  J.  G.  Fritsch  think  that  the 
Vikings  went  south  of  New  England,  probably  as  far  south 
as  the  Carolinas.  It  is  plain  from  this  that  the  doctors  disagree. 
They  are  sure  that  Vinland  was  in  America,  but  just  where  they 


The   Vinland   Voyages   showing    Bjarni's   voyage    from    Iceland    to    New 
Foundland  and  New  England  and  Leif  Erikson's  from  Norway  to  Green- 
land and  following  the  coast  to  New  England. 

(From   Hovgaard's   "Voyages  of  the   Norsemen   to  America."     Copyright,    1914,   by 
American-Scandinavian    Foundation  ). 


do  not  know.  The  older  critics  favored  the  view  that  Vinland 
was  in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island ;  later  scholars  prefer  a 
little  more  northern  or  a  more  southern  locality. 

Erik  the  Red  had  a  friend  by  the  name  of  Herjulf.  Herjulf 
had  a  son  by  the  name  of  Bjarni;  hence  Bjarni  Herjulfson  was 

his  name.  Bjarni  chanced  to  be  in  Norway 
Bjarni  Herjulfson,  when  his  father  moved  from  Iceland  to  Green- 
986  land.  When  he  returned  to  Iceland  with  a  cargo 

of  merchandise  he  did  not  unload  his  ship,  but 
resolved  to  follow  a  good  old  custom  to  take  up  his  abode  with 
his  father.  His  men  were  all  willing,  so  they  sailed  for  Green- 
land.    On    account  of  a  north   wind  and  a   fog  they  lost  sight 


56  Norwegian  People  in  America 

of  their  course  and  sailed  many  days  until  they  came  to  a  land 
without  mountains,  covered  with  woods.  He  was  too  far  south. 
C.  R.  Damon  thinks  that  the  land  which  he  now  discovered  was 
either  Cape  Cod  or  Nantucket.  Bjarni  turned  his  boat  to  the 
north  again  and  sailed  for  two  days,  when  he  again  spied  land. 
When  his  men  asked  him  if  it  was  Greenland,  he  said  "No,  for 
in  Greenland  there  are  great  snowy  mountains,  but  this  land  is 
flat  and  covered  with  trees."  This  place,  thinks  R.  B.  Anderson, 
was  Nova  Scotia.  Again  he  sailed  to  the  north  and  kept  the  sea 
with  a  fine  breeze  from  the  southwest  for  three  days,  when  a 
third  land  was  seen,  no  doubt  Newfoundland.  Bjarni  would 
not  go  ashore,  so  on  he  sailed  farther  north,  driven  by  a  violent 
southwest  wind,  and  after  four  days  he  reached  Greenland. 


Statue   of   Leif   Erikson  at   Boston 

Erik  the  Red  and  wife  Thorhild  lived  at  Brattahlid,  West 
Greenland,  with  their  three  sons,  Leif  the  Lucky,  Thorvald  and 

Thorstein.  When  Leif  heard  of  the  ad- 
Lei/  Erikson,  1000      venture    of     Bjarni    he    determined    to    find 

the  land  which  Bjarni  had  sighted,  and  ex- 
plore it.  He  bought  Bjarni's  ship  from  him,  set  sail  with  35 
picked  men  and  found  the  lands  just  as  Bjarni  had  described 
them  far  away  to  the  southwest  of  Greenland.  He  landed  at 
three  places.  The  first  he  called  Helhiland,  meaning  stoneland. 
It  has  been  variously  located  in  Labrador'  and  Newfoundland. 
The  second  place  he  called  Markland,  meaning  woodland,  pos- 
sibly in  Nova  Scotia.  The  third  place  he  called  Vinland,  be- 
cause one  of  his  party,  a  German,  by  name  Tyrker,  had  found 
some  grapes  and  became  so  excited  that  he  began  to  talk  German. 


The  Norse  Discoveries  of  America  57 

Leif  Erikson  was  the  first  to  cross  the  Atlantic  without  a  stop, 
since  he  did  not  stop  at  Iceland  on  his  way  to  Greenland  from 
Norway.  He  was  the  first  Christian  missionary  to  America.  He 
was  the  first  to  set  out  to  find  America  and  one  of  the  first  to  set 
his  foot  on  the  American  continent. 

Leif  Erikson  returned  to  Greenland  in  the  following  spring. 
His  brother  Thorvald  listened  with  rapture  to  the  tale  of  adven- 
ture and  thought  that  the  land  had  been  too  lit- 
Thorvald  Erikson,      tie  explored.   So  he  set  sail  with  thirty  men  for 
1002  Vinland  in   1002.    He  found  Vinland  to  be  a 

fair  country,  and  after  a  good  deal  of  explora- 
tion he  concluded  to  make  it  his  home,  but  he  and  his  party  were 
attacked  by  the  Indians,  or  Skrellings  (weaklings),  as  they 
called  them,  and  Thorvald  was  killed.  His  companions  buried 
him  there  in  Vinland  and  two  crosses  were  erected  on  his  grave, 
one  at  his  head  and  one  at  his  feet.  When  the  Norsemen  had 
buried  their  chief,  they  loaded  their  ships  with  grapes  and  wood, 
and  returned  to  Greenland  in  the  year  1005. 

Thorstein,  the  youngest  son  of  Erik  the  Red,  was  seized  with 
a  desire  to  go  and  fetch  the  body  of  his  brother  Thorvald.     He 
set  out  with  Thorvald 's  ship  with  a  crew  of 
Thorstein  Erikson,      twenty-five  men  of  good  stature  and  strength 
1005  and,  taking  with  him  his  wife  Gudrid,  he  sailed 

for  Vinland.  Through  the  whole  summer  his 
ship  was  tossed  about  on  the  deep  and  he  lost  all  reckoning.  Finally, 
they  made  land  and  discovered  that  they  were  on  the  western  coast 
of  Greenland.  Here  Thorstein  and  several  of  his  men  died  of 
disease,  and  his  widow  and  the  rest  of  the  party  returned  to 
Eriksf jord  from  whence  they  had  departed. 

In  1006  Karlsefne  came  from  Norway  to  Eriksf  jord  with  two 
ships.     While   there   he   married    Gudrid,     widow     of     Thorstein 

Erikson.  She  persuaded  Thorfinn  to  undertake 
Thorfinn  Karlsefne,  an  expedition  to  Vinland.  This  he  did  in  the 
i°07  year  1007  with  the  intention  of  colonizing  the 

new  found  land.  His  party  consisted  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty-one  men  and  nine  women.  He  carried  along  on 
this  occasion  also  a  number  of  cattle  and  sheep.  They  arrived 
safely  at  Leif's  Booths,  and  remained  there  three  years,  when 
hostilities  with  the  Indians  compelled  them  to  give  up  their  col- 
ony. In  1008  a  son  was  born  to  Thorfinn  and  Gudrid.  He  was 
called  Snorri  Thorfinnson.  He  was  the  first  white  child  born 
on  the  American  continent,  of  which  we  have  any  record.  From 
him  the  famous  sculptor,  Bertel  Thorvaldsen,  is  lineally 
descended,  besides  many  other  distinguished  men.  After  Thor- 
finn's    death,    which    occurred    some   years   later   in   Greenland, 


58  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Gudrid  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  after  which  she  returned 
to  the  home  of  her  son  Snorri,  who  had  caused  a  church 
to  be  built  at  Blaumb0r.  Gudrid  then  took  the  veil  and  remained 
a  Catholic  nun  until  the  end  of  her  days.  There  is  in  Bristol 
County,  Massachusetts,  the  Dighton  Rock,  on  which  is  an  in- 
scription, which  it  has  been  claimed  dates  from  the  occu- 
pancy of  Thorfinn  in  this  neighborhood.  The  rock  with  its  in- 
scription was  there  when  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  in  Massa- 
chusetts. 

There  was  much  talk  about  another  Vinland  voyage,  and  in 
1011   two  ships  set  sail  for  Vinland.     One  was  commanded  by 

Freydis,  Erik's  daughter,  and  the  other  by 
Freydis,  1011  the   brothers,     Helgi    and    Finn    Bogi,     whom 

she  had  invited  to  go  along  with  her.  The 
story  of  this  expedition  is  very  sad,  for  it  concerns  the  massacre 
of  thirty  men  and  five  women  of  the  party  at  the  instigation  of 
Freydis  herself.  After  the  massacre  she  returned  to  Greenland 
and  bribed  her  party  to  screen  her  guilt.  Nevertheless,  "murder 
will  out,"  and  the  story  got  abroad  at  last.  At  this  point  the 
sagas  for  a  time  are  silent  about  Vinland  and  its  colonization. 
The  saga-man  was  a  historian  and,  as  such,  wrote  about  events 
which  were  considered  important  events  in  Norway  and  Iceland 
mainly.  Not  very  much  was  written  about  Greenland  and  Vin- 
land because  they  were  considered  less  important.  More  attention 
was  paid  to  the  Vinland  voyages  of  Leif,  Thorvald,  Thorstein, 
Thorfinn  and  Freydis,  because  they  belonged  to  the  family  of 
Erik  the  Red,  who  was  considered  an  outstanding  man. 

The  sagas  report  that  a  few  of  Thorfinn  Karlsefne's  men  re- 
mained in  Vinland.    Later,  two  Icelandic  chieftains  joined  them 

and  established  a  colony  there.  In  1059 
Bishop  John,  1059      they    were    joined  by  yet  another   Icelander, 

Bishop  John,  a  man  of  English  or  Irish 
descent,  who  had  preached  in  Iceland  for  four  years.  In  Vin- 
land he  preached  not  only  to  the  Norsemen,  but  also 
to  the  Indians.  Some  of  the  Indians  he  succeeded  in  converting 
to  Christianity;  nevertheless,  he  suffered  martyrdom  at  the 
hands  of  the  Red  Men. 

Eric  Upsi  was,  according  to  some  accounts,  the  first  bishop 
of   Greenland.    The  "Lawman's   Annals"   records  under  date  of 

1121  these  brief  words:  "Bishop  Eric  of 
Eric  Upsi,  1121         Greenland  went  in  search  of  Vinland."   There 

is  no  indication  anywhere  why  he  went  or 
whether  he  ever  returned.  The  Norse-Greenlanders  applied  for 
a  new  bishop,  and  according  to  the  "Annals,"  they  got  one  in  the 
person  of  Bishop  Arnold,  who  was  consecrated  in  1124  as  Eric's 
successor. 


The  Norse  Discoveries  of  America  59 

In  1261,  Iceland  and  Greenland,  for  the  first  time  in  their 
history  acknowledged  the  over  lordship   of   the  king  of    Norway 

and  promised  to  pay  taxes.  In  13.80  Erik 
Adelbrand  and  Priest-hater  came  to  the  throne  of    Norway. 

Thorvald  Helgesson,  He  appointed  as  governor  of  Iceland  Arne 
1285  Thorlaksson,  a  man  not  very   friendly  to  the 

clergy.  On  this  account  two  of  the  Icelandic 
pastors,  Adelbrand  and  Thorvald  Helgesson,  set  out  for  Vinland 
in  the  year  1285.  The  sagas  report  that  they  "found  a  new  land," 
which  some  suppose  was  the  island  of  New  Foundland.  Cabot, 
in  1497,  gave  the  island  its  present  name,  which  is  remarkably 
like  the  saga  report. 

The  "Skalholt  Annals"  are  a  manuscript  found  in  southern 
Iceland.    They  contain  a  record,  dated  1347,  as  follows:     "There 

came  also  a  ship  from  Greenland,  less  in  size 
Skalholt  Annals,  than  small  Icelandic  trading  vecsels.  It  came 
1347  into   the   outer   Stream-firth    (on   the   western 

coast  of  Iceland).  It  was  without  an  anchor. 
There  were  seventeen  men  on  board,  and  they  had  sailed  to  Mark- 
land,  but  had  afterwards  been  driven  hither  by  storms  at  sea." 
That  is,  this  ship,  on  its  homeward  voyage  to  Greenland,  had  been 
driven  by  adverse  storms  over  to  Iceland. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  documentary  and  circumstantial  evi- 
dence to  prove  that  in  or  about  1476  an  expedition  was  sent  by 

Christian  I  of  Denmark-Norway  to  Amer- 
John  Scolvus,  1476     ica.   The  expedition  was  sent  on  the  suggestion 

of  the  Portuguese  government.  The  object 
of  the  expedition  was  to  find  the  "Cod  Fish  Country"  of  Labrador 
and  Newfoundland.  The  venture  was  successful.  It  was  com- 
manded by  a  Dane,  Dietrik  Pining,  and  was  piloted  by  a  Nor- 
wegian, John  Scolvus. 

Two  Portuguese  noblemen,  Cortereal  and  Homen,  went  along 
as  representatives  of  Portugal.  Cordeyro  therefore  credits  these 
men  with  the  discovery  of  the  codfish  country,  and  the  King 
of  Portugal  gave  them  official  appointments  in  the  Azores  in 
recognition  thereof.  It  is  interesting  in  this  connection  to  note 
that  in  1476  Columbus  made  his  home  in  Lisbon,  Portugal.  In 
1477,  when  he  was  enroute  to  Iceland,  he  wrote  a  letter  from 
Bristol,  England,  to  his  son.  This  expedition  to  America  by 
Scolvus  occurred  nearly  500  years  after  Bj ami's  first  land- 
sighting. 


60  Norwegian  People  in  America 

3.     Great   Ireland 

Another  part  of  America  that  was  settled  by  the  Xorse 
Vikings  was  Hvitramannaland,  or  White  Man's  Land,  also 
called  "Irland  itt  Mikla,"  or  Great  Ireland.  It  was  called  White 
Alan's  Land,  because  two  native  boys,  captured  by  Thorfinn 
Karlsefne,  in  Markland  in  1007,  had  told  of  a  country  beyond 
their  own  (to  the  south)  where  people  wore  white  garments.  It 
was  called  Great  Ireland  because  it  was  conceived  to  be  nearest 
to  Ireland  across  the  ocean,  southwestward.  An  old  manuscript 
says:  "Thither  was  sailing  formerly  from  Ireland;  there 
Irishmen  and  Icelanders  recognized  Ari,  of  whom  nothing  had 
been  heard  for  a  long  time  and  who  had  been  made  a  chief  there 
by  the  inhabitants."  Ari  Frodi  (1067-1146),  the  first  compiler 
of  "Landnamabok,"  states  that  this  land  lay  to  the  west,  in  the 
sea,  near  to  Vinland  the  Good.  "VI  days'  sailing  from  Ireland." 
According  to  Carl  Christian  Rafn,  the  figure  VI  was  written  by 
mistake  for  XI,  XV  or  XX,  by  the  transcriber  of  the  original 
manuscript  which  is  now  lost.  The  mistake,  R.  B.  Anderson 
thinks,  might  easily  have  been  caused  by  a  blot  or  defect  in  the 
manuscript.  Great  Ireland  is  supposed  to  have  been  some  part 
of  the  Atlantic  coast,  from  Virginia  to  Florida. 

Ari    Marson,    an    Icelandic    chieftain,      was,   in   the   year   983, 
driven  by  storms  far  out  of  his  course,  until  he  finally  landed  at 
what   the   chroniclers   called   Irland   itt   Mikla. 
AH  Marson,  983  The    story   of    this   voyage   was   first   told   by 

Rafn,  Ari  Marson's  contemporary.  Rafn 
was  surnamed  the  Limerick-trader,  because  he  lived  at  Lim- 
erick, Ireland,  for  a  number  of  years.  Ari  Frodi,  the  his- 
torian, was  a  great-grandson  of  Ari  Marson.  He  relates  that 
Thorfinn  Sigurdsson,  Jarl  of  Orkney,  claimed  that  Ari  Marson 
was  held  in  great  respect  in  his  new  home  and  could  not  get 
away  from  there.  In  those  days  there  seems  to  have  been  an 
occasional  intercourse  between  the  British  Isles  and  Great 
Ireland. 

Bjoni  Asbrandsson  was  also  an  Icelander.     On  account  of  a 
love  affair  with  Thurid,  a  married  woman,  he  had  been  banished 
from  Iceland  for  three  years.  He  went  to  Den- 
Bj0rn  Asbrandsson,     mark,  joined  the  celebrated  Jomsborg  warriors, 
999  and  fought  in  the   Battle  of  Fyrisal,  Sweden. 

In  999  he  returned  to  Iceland  and  again  took 
up  his  unfortunate  love  affair.  For  this  breach  of  ethics  he  had  to 
leave  the  country  again.  He  set  sail  from  Iceland  with  a  north- 
east wind,  and  no  one  knew  what  became  of  him  until  Gudleif 
returned  from  his  voyage  to  Great  Ireland. 


The  Norse  Discoveries  of  America  61 

Gudleif  Gudlaugsson  was  a  brother  of  Thorfinn,  the  ancestor 
of  Snorri  Sturlasson,  the  historian.  Gudleif  undertook  a  voyage 
to  Dublin,  at  that  time  a  Norwegian  city.  On 
Gudleif  Gudlaugs-  leaving  Ireland  he  set  sail  again  for  Iceland, 
son,  1027  but  was  driven  by  adverse  winds    far  to  the 

west  and  southwest.  He  and  his  crew  sent  up 
many  prayers  that  they  might  find  land.  Finally,  they  saw  land  to 
the  west  and  resolved  to  go  ashore.  As  they  did  so,  people  came 
down  to  meet  them,  laid  hands  on  them,  and  bound  them.  While 
the  natives  were  debating  what  to  do  with  them,  another  company 
of  men  approached,  at  the  head  of  which  rode  a  man  of  dis- 
tinguished appearance,  old  and  gray.  He  spoke  to  Gudleif  in  the 
Old  Norse,  for  he  was  no  other  than  BjoYn  Asbrandsson. 
Bjo'rn  asked  many  questions  about  Iceland,  set  Gudleif  and  his 
men  at  liberty,  sent  a  present  along  to  his  sweetheart  Thurid  and 
a  sword  for  her  son  Kjartan,  and  directed  them  to  set  sail  again, 
as  the  natives  were  not  to  be  trusted.  Gudleif  sailed  back  to 
Dublin,  and  then  returned  to  Iceland,  bringing  with  him  the  greet- 
ings and  presents. 

B.  I.  Jensen,  Toano,  Va.,  writes  concerning  the  ruins  of  an 
old  stone  house  in  Virginia,  in  part  as  follows : 

"Near  the  junction  of  Weir  Creek  and  the  York  River  in 
James  City  (this)  County,  are  the  ruins  of  an  old  stone  house, 
the  history  of  which  is  a  matter  of  conjecture.  Some  believe  it 
was  an  outpost  erected  by  Capt.  John  Smith.  There  are  no  stone 
at  all  in  this  section,  so  all  used  in  building  this  house  must  have 
been  brought  in,  presumably  by  water,  may  have  been  brought 

from  the  New  England  states My  father  was  of  the 

firm  conviction  from  the  evident  age  of  the  ruin  that  it  ante- 
dated  Smith  and  the  English  settlement  and  that  it  must  have 

been  the  work  of  the  Vikings I  believe  the  Vikings 

built  this  old  house  six  hundred  years  before  Smith  was  born." 

4.      Inland 

Even  though  the  old  Norsemen  were  good  chroniclers  and 
saga-men,  it  is  reasonable  to  presume  that  they  did  not  record 
everything.  "The  half  has  never  yet  been  told."  Besides,  much 
that  has  been  written  has  been  lost.  Nothing  has  been  preserved, 
for  example,  of  the  historical  works  of  Saemund  Sigfusson,  who 
established  the  Norse  chronology  up  to  1047.  The  originals  of 
Ari  Frodi's  "Islendingabok"  and  Karl  Jonsson's  "Sverrirssaga" 
have  been  lost ;  we  possess  only  copies  and  versions  of  these. 
Many  manuscripts  have  been  destroyed — some  by  reformers 
in  the  16th  century,  some  by  the  Algerine  and  English  pirates 
in  the  17th  and  18th  centuries,  some  by  the  burning  of  the 
Royal  Library  at  Copenhagen  in  1728,  etc.     Most  manuscripts 


62  Norwegian  People  in  America 

were  at  first  privately  owned,  and  possibly  not  all  have  been 
discovered  yet.  In  1837  Carl  Christian  Rafn,  a  Danish  scholar, 
published  his  "Antiquitates  Americanae"  (American  An- 
tiquities), a  collection  of  sagas  and  other  historical  references 
to  the  Pre-Columbian  discovery  of  America  by  the  Norsemen. 
One  of  the  chief  sources  on  the  Vinland  story  is  the  "Flateyar- 
bok"  owned  by  a  family  on  an  island,  Flat  Island,  off  the  coast 
of  Iceland.  This  precious  book  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
Royal  Library  at  Copenhagen,  where  it  is  jealously  guarded. 
The  United  States  wished  to  place  it  on  exhibit  at  the  Chicago 
Columbian  Exposition  in  1893.  The  American  minister  at 
Copenhagen  promised  to  convey  the  book  here  in  an  American 
warship,  to  keep  it  constantly  under  guard  and  accompanied  by  a 
Danish  scholar,  but  the  request  was  refused. 

It  is  plain,  then,  that  we  do  not  have  all  the  sources,  also 
that  many  events  were  not  chronicled.  Men  did  not  record  all 
the  voyages  back  and  forth  between  Norway  and  Iceland,  Ireland 
and  Iceland,  Greenland  and  Iceland,  etc.,  and  it  is  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  they  should  keep  track  of  every  trip  to  the  main- 
land. During  the  12th  and  13th  centuries  the  Norsemen  in 
Greenland  used  to  make  their  fishing  expeditions  up  and  down 
what  is  now  known  as  Baffin  Bay  and  Davis  Strait,  just  as 
their  kinsmen  in  Norway  have  from  time  immemorial  fished  at 
Lofoten  and  Finmarken.  From  Davis  Strait  they  could  easily 
make  their  way  into  Hudson  Bay — and  Hudson  Bay  is  in  the 
heart  of  America,  far  inland.  This  did  actually  happen  to  the 
Jens  Munk  Expedition  in  1619.  If  the  Kensington  Stone  is 
genuine,  then  we  are  assured  that  such  an  event  took  place  also 
in  1362.  The  Kensington  Stone  and  the  white  Eskimos  and  white 
Indians  are  indications  that  the  Norsemen  penetrated  far  inland. 

In  the  fall  of  1898  Olaf  Ohman,  a  Swedish  farmer  living 
three  miles  northeast  of  Kensington,  Minn.,  in  clearing  a  timber 

tract  of  stumps,  discovered  a  stone  with  an  in- 
The  Kensington  scription   in  the   runic  characters   of   the   Old 

Stone  Norse  tongue  carved  upon  it.    The  stone  lay 

deep  down  entwined  by  the  roots  of  the  tree. 
The  tree  was  native  and  much  older  than  the  settlement.  The 
inscription  said  that  eight  Swedes  and  twenty-two  Norsemen 
were  on  a  journey  of  discovery  from  Vinland  westward.  Ten 
of  their  men  had  been  killed.  They  were  14  (or  41)  days'  journey 
from  their  vessel,  where  ten  men  were  stationed.  Year  1362.  The 
stone  at  once  attracted  much  attention.  It  was  sent  to  Minneapolis 
and  Chicago  to  be  examined  by  experts,  most  of  whom  declared  it  a 
fraud.  It  was  returned  to  the  owner,  who  used  it  for  a  doorstep 
to  his  granary  for  eight  years.  Then  in  1908,  Hjalmar  R.  Holand 
got  interested  in  it,  exhibited  it  in  this  country  and  Europe,  and 


The  Norse  Discoveries  of  America  63 

for  a  time  practically  reversed  the  opinion  that  it  is  of  modern 
origin.  In  the  line-up  denouncing  the  stone  as  a  fraud  are  such 
men  as :  O.  J.  Breda,  H.  Gjessing,  R.  B.  Anderson,  Gisle  Bothne, 
J.  Dieserud,  Geo.  T.  Flom,  Horatio  Gates,  G.  N.  Gould,  Julius  E. 
Olson  and  Knut  Gjerset;  among  its  defenders  are  such  men  as: 
H.  R.  Holand,  Anders  Daae,  Olaf  Huseby,  P.  P.  Iverslie,  An- 
drew Fossum,  N.  A.  Grevstad,  Knut  Hoegh,  O.  L.  Kirkeberg,  O. 
A.  Normann,  A.  E.  Petterson,  F.  C.  Schaefer,  Warren  Upham, 
N.  H.  Winchell  and  Louis  H.  Roddis.  A  look  at  the  map 
shows  probable  routes  the  Kensington  Norsemen  took — down 
the  Hudson  Bay,  the  Nelson  River,  Lake  Winnipeg,  and  the  Red 
River  of  the  North,  a  distance  of  one  thousand  mjles,  or  by 
way  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Great  Lakes.  According 
to  Gustav  Storm's  "Studier  over  Vinlandsreiserne,"  an  expedition 
was  sent  by  King  Magnus  from  Bergen  in  1355,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Paul  Knutson,  into  American  waters.  In  1349  the  Eski- 
mos had  attacked  the  western  settlement  (Vestbygd),  hence  this 
expedition  was  to  defend  the  Greenland  settlements  against  the 
Eskimos.  This  expedition,  or  a  part  of  it,  returned  to  Norway  in 
1364.  This  is  but  another  indication  to  show  that  the  intercourse 
between  Norway  and  America  was  still  kept  up  at  the  time  of 
the  Kensington  expedition. 

"For  nearly  four  centuries,"  says  Roddis,  "Greenland  re- 
mained a  place  with  five  or  six  thousand  people  apparently  pros- 
perous and  with  considerable  commercial  re- 
White  Eskimos  lations    with    Iceland    and     Norway.      There 

were  a  number  of  churches,  and  ecclesiastical 
relations  with  Rome  existed,  as  is  shown  by  the  mention  of  Green- 
land and  Vinland  in  papal  letters  as  well  as  in  monastic  records. 
During  this  time  it  is  known  that  a  number  of  voyages  were  made 
to  Vinland  and  Markland,  and  no  doubt  the  record  of  many  more 
are  lost.  Then  in  1406  all  mention  of  Greenland  and  its  settlement 
ceases." 

What  became  of  the  Greenland  settlements?  When  Hans 
Egede  came  to  Greenland  in  1721  he  found  only  Eskimos,  but  no 
Norsemen.  What  had  become  of  the  hardy  Norsemen  ?  The  Black 
Death  had  visited  the  island  and  the  Eskimos  are  said  to  have 
made  attacks  on  the  weakened  settlements.  Still,  it  is  not  quite 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  every  man,  woman  and  child  was  ex- 
terminated by  these  two  enemies.  There  have  been  tales  of  blond 
and  blue-eyed  Eskimos,  and  they  have  led  to  many  interesting 
speculations  and  explorations.  A  recent  explorer,  Vilhjalmur 
Stefansson,  an  Icelandic-American,  has  made  a  careful  study  of 
the  blond  Eskimos.  He  reports  that  in  Victoria  Land  and  Prince 
Albert  Island,  to  the  north  of  Canada,  seven  per  cent  of  the  Eski- 
mos are  blonds,  with  blue  eyes.    Sir  John  Franklin  said  of  these 


64  Norwegian  People  in  America 

people  that  they  were  like  Europeans ;  Thomas  Simpson,  that  they 
were  "of  a  distinguished  appearance  and  much  like  Scandinav- 
ians." "No  one,"  says  Stefansson,  "who  has  any  familiarity  with 
the  history  of  the  North  (Canada)  can  imagine  that  these  light 
characteristics  have  come  since  the  beginning  of  modern  explora- 
tion or  of  whaling."  These  white  Eskimos  are  no  doubt  descend- 
ants from  the  Greenland  colony. 

There  have  been  rumors  also  of  blond  and  blue-eyed  Indians. 
Where  there  is  much  smoke  there  must  be  some  fire.   G.  B.  Joer- 
genson,   Stanwood,   Wash.,   set  out  to  invest- 
White  Indians  igate  this   question.     He  has   found  consider- 

able concrete  evidence  of  the  intermixture  of 
the  Norse  and  the  Indian  races.  He  has  listed  a  thousand  or  more 
words  in  the  Indian  languages  of  Washington  and  western  Can- 
ada, derived  from  the  Old  Norse.  "Elva,"  for  example,  is  the  In- 
dian name  for  a  river  in  Alaska,  just  as  "kona"  is  the  Eskimo 
name  for  wife  in  Greenland.  He  has  also  discovered  a  number  of 
Indian  traditions  about  the  coming  of  the  Norsemen,  their  inter- 
marriage with  the  Indians,  and  the  warfare  between  the  white 
Indians  and  the  Red  Men. 


5.    Their  Place  in  History 

History  is  a  record  of  what  man  has  done.  Historians  mani- 
festly cannot  keep  a  record  of  everything  that  has  been  accom- 
plished. Therefore,  they  choose  what  they  consider  the  most  im- 
portant material.  The  choice  may  be  according  to  bias  or  the 
fashion  of  the  day.  Now  they  emphasize  the  deeds  of  war  and 
then  again  the  works  of  peace.  One  school  of  historians  will  stress 
one  view  ;  another  school  will  fight  for  another  opinion.  With  re- 
gard to  the  Norse  discoveries  of  America,  most  historians  in  every 
land  have  commonly  disregarded  the  whole  subject  as  being  be- 
neath their  notice.  Still,  there  is  plenty  of  evidence  of  the  fact  that 
the  discoveries  were  made,  and  plenty  of  opinion  by  good  men  at 
that,  that  these  discoveries  had  important  and  far-reaching  influ- 
ence on  world  events. 

It  is  everywhere  accepted  as  a   fact  that  Greenland  was  dis- 
covered  by    Norsemen    as   early   as   876 ;    furthermore,   that   the 
Norsemen     settled     Greenland    in     983,     and 
Greenland  that  thriving  settlements'  were  maintained  un- 

til the  Black  Death  visited  Denmark-Norway 
and  its  colonies.  After  1409  the  communication  with  Greenland 
was  practically  cut  off  until  1721,  when  it  was  resumed. 
The  story  of  Greenland  is  not  to  be  despised.  The  reports,  for 
instance,  with  regard  to  foreign  missions,  as  already  stated,  point 
to  one  of  the  first  and  most  successful  mission  conquests  in  mod- 


The  Norse  Discoveries  of  America  65 

ern  history.  The  whole  world  sings  Bishop  Heber's  famous  mis- 
sion hymn:  ''From  Greenland's  Icy  Mountains."  It  cannot  be 
denied  that  Greenland  is  a  part  of  North  America;  it  is  not  de- 
nied that  the  Norsemen  discovered  Greenland  in  876,  therefore 
they  did  discover  North  America  in  876. 

An  examination  of  thirty-three  works  on  United  States  his- 
tory, taken  at  random,  scattered  over  one  hundred  years  of  time 
as  to  publication,  making  eighty-seven  vol- 
V inland  umes,  and  covering  39,179  pages,  reveals  the 

following  facts :  Only  forty-five  pages  of 
the  eighty-seven  volumes  are  devoted  to  the  Norsemen  in  Amer- 
ica. Not  one  word  is  said  about  the  recent  immigration  of  Nor- 
wegians to  America,  and  their  part  in  the  making  of  this  country. 
One  would  never  know  from  United  States  history  that  there  are 
any  Norwegians  here. 

Twelve  of  the  thirty-three  books  do  not  mention  the  Norse 
discoveries  at  all.  Twenty  of  the  thirty-three  do  mention  their 
coming,  but  do  not  consider  the  event  as  significant.  Only  one  of 
the  thirty-three, — C.  R.  Damon, — accepts  the  story  of  the  Norse- 
men on  a  par  with  other  historical  data. 

Bancroft,  for  example,  says :  The  claim  "rests  on  narratives 
mythological  in  form  and  obscure  in  meaning."  He  speaks  about 
Snorri,  one  of  the  world's  greatest  historians,  as  having  a  "zealous 
curiosity  that  could  hardly  have  neglected  the  discovery  of  a  con- 
tinent." Snorri,  by  the  way,  devotes  only  one  sentence  to  Vinland : 
"Thereafter  he  found  Vinland  the  Good."  It  is  a  safe  bet  that 
Bancroft  had  never  read  the  great  Snorri  and  here  passed  a 
snap  judgment.  Hildreth  says :  "Greenland  they  certainly 
discovered  and  colonized ;  but  their  alleged  visit  to  North 
America,  though  not  without  warm  advocates,  rests  on 
events  of  too  mythic  a  character  to  find  a  place  in  authentic 
history."  This  evidence,  by  the  way,  is  exactly  of  the  same  kind 
as  the  evidence  for  the  discovery  of  Greenland.  Barnes  says : 
"Admitting  the  claims  of  the  Northmen,  the  fact  is  barren  of  all 
results."  Armstrong  says :  "The  discoveries  did  no  good,  except 
to  satisfy  their  love  of  adventure."  Johnston  thinks :  "Their  dis- 
coveries were  little  heard  of  and  were  soon  forgotten  altogether." 
Channing  maintains  that :  "The  whole  matter  of  the  Vinland  voy- 
ages is  one  of  those  curious  academic  puzzles  which  are  interesting 
on  account  of  the  absurd  theories  that  have  clustered  around  them. 
The  history  of  America  would  have  been  what  it  has  been  if  Leif 
Ericson  had  never  been  born."  A.  B.  Hart  has  written  a  "Source 
Book  of  American  History,"  1900,  in  which  he  does  not  mention 
the  Norsemen  at  all.  He  has  written  also  a  book  entitled  "Amer- 
ican History  Told  by  Contemporaries,"  1920,  in  which  he  says 
about  the  sagas  which  he  quotes :    "The  narrative  is  trustworthy, 


66  Norwegian  People  in  America 

but  does  not  go  into  detail  enough  to  identify  the  places  men- 
tioned." C.  R.  Damon,  in  his  ''American  Dictionary  of  Dates," 
says  that  Gunnbj^rn  sighted  a  western  land  in  876,  Erik  the  Red 
discovered  Greenland  in  983,  Bjarni  came  to  Cape  Cod  or  Nan- 
tucket in  986,  and  Leif  Erikson  in  1000  sought  the  land  reported 
by  Bjarni.  Several  other  of  the  Norse  discoveries  are  listed  in 
chronological  order  by  Damon. 

The  historians  are  particularly  interested  in  trying  to  show 
that,  even  if  the  Norsemen  had  discovered  America,  Columbus 
knew  nothing  about  it.  But  this  is  discrediting  the  intelligence  of 
Columbus,  as  well  as  the  importance  of  the  Norsemen  in  the 
Viking  Age.  The  first  Icelander  to  make  mention  of  Vinland  was 
Ari  Frodi  in  his  "Islendingabok,"  about  1120.  But  over  50  years 
previous  to  the  writing  of  "Islendingabok,"  Adam  von  Bremen, 
a  German,  wrote,  in  1067,  a  church  history,  in  which  he  says  that 
he  had  gotten  information  from  the  Danish  king,  Svenn  Estrids- 
son,  about  Vinland.  Having  given  an  account  of  Iceland  and 
Greenland,  Adam  continues :  "Besides  these  there  is  still  another 
region,  which  has  been  visited  by  many,  lying  in  that  ocean  (the 
Atlantic),  which  is  called  Vinland,  because  vines  grow  there  spon- 
taneously, producing  very  good  wine ;  corn  likewise  springs  up 
there  without  being  sown.  This  we  know,  not  by  fabulous  conjec- 
ture, but  from  positive  statements  of  the  Danes." 

The  oldest  known  literary  mention  of  Vinland  was  found  on 
a  runestone  at  H^nen  in  Ringerike,  Norway.  The  inscription  was 
copied  in  1823,  but  the  stone  has  since  disappeared.  Sophus  Bugge 
estimates  that  this  record  was  cut  in  1050,  or  at  an  earlier  date. 

It  is  important  to  know  that  other  peoples  in  Europe  besides 
the  Norsemen  attempted  voyages  to  the  west  before  Columbus.  A 
Prince  of  Wales,  Madoc  by  name,  is  said  to  have  sailed  to  Amer- 
ica in  1170,  and  returned.  He  sailed  again,  but  never  returned. 
Pizigani,  an  Italian,  published  a  map  in  1367  showing  islands  in 
the  Atlantic.  In  1394,  Niccolo  Zeno,  a  Venetian,  visited  Greenland 
and  presumably  Vinland  also.  In  1427  the  Claudius  Clavus  map 
of  Greenland  and  Vinland  was  published,  just  eight  years  before 
Columbus  was  born.  In  1476  Portugal  tried  to  rediscover  the 
"Cod  Fish  Country,"  and  that  year  Columbus  settled  in  Portugal. 
The  next  year  he  made  a  trip  to  Iceland  and  one  hundred  leagues 
beyond.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Gudrid,  who  had  twice  been 
in  Vinland,  after  her  return  to  Iceland  made  a  visit  to  Rome,  and 
later  took  the  veil  as  a  Catholic  nun.  Also  that  the  popes  knew 
about  Greenland  and  Vinland,  as  is  shown  from  the  fact  that  they 
appointed  bishops  of  Greenland  and  Vinland  for  the  space  of  at 
least  three  hundred  years.  It  seems  plain,  therefore,  that  Europe 
had  considerable  knowledge  of  the  lands  to  the  west. 

Europe,  thinks  Paul  L.  Ford,  was  busy  with  its  own  affairs, 
felt  no  pressure  of  population,  and  therefore  did  not  care  to  give 


The  Norse  Discoveries  of  America  67 

heed  to  tales  about  western  lands.  It  needed  men,  not  lands.  Eu- 
rope enjoyed  a  lucrative  trade  with  India, — by  water,  across  the 
Mediterranean  ;  and  by  caravan,  across  Asia  Minor  and  Persia. 
But  when  the  Turk  blocked  the  way  to  India,  then  Europe  began 
to  listen  to  the  possibility  of  a  western  route.  Certain  it  is  that  the 
air  was  full  of  stories  about  the  lands  to  the  west  and  the  map- 
makers  persisted  in  locating  strange  lands  out  in  the  Atlantic,  all 
the  way  from  Greenland  to  Brazil.  Columbus  himself  was  a  map- 
maker  by  profession.  In  the  few  maps  that  have  been  preserved, 
no  less  than  27,  made  between  1351  and  1492,  by  different  ge- 
ographers working  in  different  cities,  locate  islands  and  continents 
in  the  western  Atlantic,  of  which  no  account  or  mention  is  to  be 
found  in  the  writings  of  the  same  time.  Of  course  many  of  the 
rulers  and  schoolmen  would  not  believe  the  accounts  of  the 
Norsemen,  nor  of  Columbus  either.  King  John  of  Portugal  would 
not  believe  until  he  saw  the  Indians  and  treasures  that  Columbus 
took  along  with  him. 

That  the  voyage  of  Columbus  produced  more  results  than  those 
of  the  Norsemen  is  due  to  various  causes :  The  monarchs  of 
southern  Europe  were  interested  in  the  enterprise;  vast  mines  of 
gold  and  silver  were  reported ;  the  modern  age  had  begun,  with 
awakening  everywhere  and  in  every  direction.  Nevertheless,  it 
took  Europe  another  century  to  decide  that  it  would  try  to  colonize 
America. 

Columbus  was  an  earnest  student,  and  the  best  geographer  and 
map-maker  of  his  day.  He  was  in  close  touch  with  the  pope  at 
Rome,  with  the  scholars  and  rulers  of  his  day,  and  with  the  sea- 
men from  every  port.  He  was  a  diligent  reader  of  Aristotle,  Sen- 
eca, Strabo  and  other  authorities  on  geography,  and  had  made  ex- 
tensive travels.  He  agreed  with  the  ancient  and  mediaeval  scholars 
that  the  world  is  round  as  a  ball  and  not  flat  as  a  pancake.  He 
could,  therefore,  not  have  been  ignorant  of  the  works  of  Adam 
von  Bremen,  the  sagas,  the  papal  records  and  the  many  maps 
which  showed  that  there  were  islands  and  lands  to  the  west. 

In  his  contract  with  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain,  who 
financed  his  undertaking,  he  makes  plain  that  he  intends  to  dis- 
cover new  lands.  He  demands  five  things:  1.  He  wishes  to  be 
"admiral  of  the  seas  and  countries  which  he  is  about  to  discover," 
and  that  this  dignity  "shall  descend  to  his  heirs  forever."  2.  He 
wishes  to  be  made  viceroy  of  all  the  continents  and  islands  that  he 
may  discover.  .3.  He  wishes  to  have  a  share,  amounting  to  one- 
tenth  part,  of  all  the  exports  from  said  countries.  4.  He  wishes 
to  be  made  sole  judge  of  all  mercantile  matters  in  said  countries. 
5.  He  wishes  to  receive  the  eighth  part  of  all  the  profits  from  all 
ships  which  traffic  with  the  new  countries.  He  wishes  to  be  called 
Admiral  of  the  Seas,  Admiral,  Viceroy  and  Governor  of  the 
Indies.    All  these  rights,  titles,  offices,  percentages  and  privileges 


68  Norwegian  People  in  America 

were  granted  him  by  the  Spanish  monarchs,  as  he  set  out  on  his 
first  voyage  of  discovery  in  1492,  and  were  repeated  in  1497  and 
1501. 

Columbus  did  not  want  much,  it  seems,  but  it  was  a  good  deal 
more  than  the  Norsemen  were  asking.  At  any  rate,  he  did  not 
give  the  Norsemen  any  credit  for  having  shown  him  the  way  to 
the  western  world.  In  that  respect  he  is  in  a  class  with  the  average 
writer  of  United  States  history.  Thus  Spencer  says :  "There  is 
not  the  slightest  reason  to  believe  that  the  illustrious  Genoese  was 
acquainted  with  the  discovery  of  North  America  by  the  Normans 
five  centuries  before  his  time,  however  widely  authenticated  that 
fact  now  appears  to  be  by  the  Icelandic  records."  And  Thomas 
says :  "The  Northmen  must  have  carried  home  news  of  their  dis- 
coveries   Their  stories  would  hardly  have  been  believed 

even  if  carried  to  other  Europeans."  Garner  and  Lodge  venture 
the  following  judgment :  "While,  therefore,  Leif  Ericson  and  his 
followers  were  probably  the  first  Europeans  to  visit  America,  their 
discoveries  had  no  permanent  result,  and  the  history  of  the  country 
would  have  been  what  it  is  had  they  never  left  their  native  shores.*' 
Such  statements  are  ridiculous.  The  Norsemen  contributed  their 
share  to  making  Columbus  realize  that  there  was  an  American 
continent  and  they  should  be  given  credit  for  this  contribution  in 
the  school  histories  of  our  land.  History  should  not  be  a  juggling 
of  facts.    It  is  a  record  of  what  man  has  done. 

•  The  story  of  Great  Ireland  is  often  dismissed  as  mythical  for 
the  reason  that  the  sagas  as  a  body  of  literature  discuss  matters 

ranging  from  dry  chronicle  to  romantic  myth. 
Great  Ireland  The    sagas    which    give    the    most    elaborate 

accounts  of  the  Great  Ireland  discoveries 
are  the  "Landnamabok"  and  the  "Eyrbyggja"  saga  and  they  bear 
marks  of  being  sober  history. 

There   is    nothing    so    stubborn    as    facts.      It    may   be    that 
the  Kensington  Stone  and  other  runic  inscriptions,  particularly  in 
Canada,  are  fraudulent,  but  it  is  hard  to  ac- 
Inlarm  count   for  the   white   Eskimos   and  white  In- 

dians, except  on  the  theory  that  a  very  long 
time  back  there  had  been  an  intermixture  of  the  races.  The  data 
for  such  a  theory  is  easily  at  hand  if  we  admit  that  the  Norsemen 
penetrated  inland.  Again,  if  the  Kensington  Stone  is  a  fraud,  the 
mystery  deepens :  who  perpetrated  the  fraud,  and  how,  and  when, 
and  why? 


Chapter  IV 

THE  NORWEGIANS  IN  AMERICA 

The  Norwegians  have  been  in  America  since  876  A.  D.,  1049 
years.  Their  occupancy  of  America  may  be  divided  into  three 
periods,  as  follows : 

1.  The  Viking  Period,  876-1476,  600  years. 

2.  The  Colonial  Period,  1476-1825,  349  years. 

3.  The  Modern  Period,   1825-1925,  100  years. 


1.    The  Viking  Period 

The  Viking  Period  was  one  of  discovery  and  of  interrupted  col- 
onization. The  Norsemen  discovered  Greenland  and  the  Amer- 
ican continent.  They  explored  America  from  Greenland  as  far 
south  as  Florida  and  as  far  west  as  Minnesota.  They  made  set- 
tlements in  Greenland,  New  England  (Vinland),  the  Chesapeake 
country  (Great  Ireland),  and  possibly  in  other  localities. 

Greenland  was  discovered  by  Gunnbjo'rn  by  chance,  just  as 
the  continent  was  accidentally  discovered  by  Bjarni,  both  of  them 
speeding  before  the  gale.  But  Erik  the  Red  intended  to  find 
Greenland  and  Leif  Erikson  planned  to  discover  the  land  that 
Bjarni  reported  having  seen. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  Norsemen  to  settle  these  lands  and 
live  there.  Therefore  Erik  the  Red  called  his  land  Greenland, 
hoping,  as  he  said,  to  attract  settlers.  Therefore  Leif  would  not 
sell  the  huts  that  he  had  built  in  Vinland,  but  was  willing  to  lend 
them.  When  Thorvald  came  to  Vinland,  he  said :  "It  is  a  fair 
region  here,  and  here  I  should  like  to  make  my  home.'-   When  he 


70  Norwegian  People  in  America 

was  shot  by  an  Indian  arrow,  he  picked  out  a  pleasant  spot  for 
his  grave,  saying:  "Ye  shall  bury  me  there,  with  a  cross  at  my 
head  and  another  at  my  feet,  and  call  it  Crossness  hereafter  for 
ever."  It  is  said  of  Thorfmn  Karlsefne  that  he  brought  with  him 
a  company  of  160,  besides  "all  kinds  of  cattle,  for  it  was  their  in- 
tention to  settle  there,  if  they  could."  There  is  pretty  good  cir- 
cumstantial evidence  to  show  that  there  were  Norse  settlements 
in  Vinland  as  in  Greenland  long  after  Thorfinn  Karlsefne  had 
to  leave  on  account  of  the  hostilities  of  the  Indians.  It  was,  for 
example,  considered  both  honorable  and  profitable  to  go  to  Vin- 
land to  fetch  timber  and  other  supplies.  The  pope  kept  on  ap- 
pointing bishops  of  Greenland  and  Vinland  from  1112  to  1492. 
The  Greenland  colony  existed  until  it  was  wiped  out  by  the  Black 
Death  and  the  Eskimos.  It  is  said  to  have  had  upward  of  six 
thousand  Norsemen.  But  the  records  are  meagre.  An  examination 
of  three  hundred  modern  text  books  in  United  States  history  re- 
veals the  fact  that  not  one  of  these  books,  by  one  word,  gives  any 
information  about  the  presence  of  Norwegians  in  America  since 
1825.  And  yet  they  are  found  in  every  state  and  almost  every 
county  of  the  United  States. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  the  early  Norse  settlements  were 
hard  to  establish  and  maintain.  Norway  was  far  away.  Iceland 
was  far  away.  Greenland  was  far  away.  Greenland  had  no  tim- 
ber from  which  to  build  ships.  It  was  difficult  to  cross  the  stormy 
seas  in  open  boats,  without  compass.  Norway  became  a  province 
of  Denmark  and  her  communication  with  her  colonies  ceased.  The 
Black  Death  ravaged  here  and  there.  Indians  and  Eskimos  were 
hostile. 

2.    The  Colonial  Period 

No  one  knows  how  many  Norwegians  came  over  during  the 
Colonial  Period  or  when  they  began  to  come.  They  did  not  come 
in  collective  bodies  as  in  the  good  old  Viking  Age.  Norway,  being 
subject  to  Denmark,  was  not  in  a  position  to  enter  the  race  with 
Spain,  France  and  England  to  come  to  America  first  and  claim 
the  land. 

King  Christian  IV  in  1619  sent  an  expedition  to  find  a  north- 
west passage  to  Asia.  The  captain  of  this  expedition  was  the 
Norwegian  Jens  Munk.  He  sailed  from  Copenhagen  May  9,  1619, 
with  two  ships  and  66  men.  He  entered  Hudson  Bay  and  had  to 
winter  there  at  the  mouth  of  the  Churchill  River.  He  took  pos- 
session of  the  country  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Nova  Dania.  But 
sickness  visited  them  and  all  died  except  Jens  Munk  and  two 
of  his  crew,  who  returned  to  Norway  Sept.  25,  1620.  Munk  kept 
a  diary,  which  is  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Copenhagen. 

In  his  "First  Chapter  of  Norwegian  Immigration"  R.  B.  An- 
derson mentions  two  Norwegians  who  served  under  Admiral  John 


The  Norwegians  in  America  71 

Paul  Jones,  namely,  Thomas  Johnson  and  Lewis  Brown,  both 
born  in  Norway.  A  biography  of  Johnson  written  by  John  Henry 
Sherburne  was  published  at  Washington  in  1825. 

In  his  "Norske  Settlementers  Historie"  H.  R.  Holand  sets 
forth  a  number  of  interesting  instances  of  Norwegians  in  Amer- 
ica during  the  17th  and  18th  centuries;  as,  for  example:  John 
Vinje,  a  Norwegian,  born  in  1614,  was  the  first  white  child  born 
in  New  York.  His  sister  was  married  to  Dirck  Volkertson,  a  Nor- 
wegian in  the  Dutch  colony  at  New  Amsterdam  (New  York). 
"Hans  Hansen  van  Bergen  in  Norwegen"  was  the  name  of  a 
prominent  Norwegian  in  the  Dutch  colony.  One  of  his  descend- 
ants is  Dr.  John  Bergen,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
Minneapolis,  author  of  "Evidences  of  Christianity,"  published  by 
Augsburg  Publishing  House  in  1923.  In  a  private  letter  Pastor 
Bergen  says  that  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  his  remote  Norwegian 
nationality,  but  he  adds :  "I  ban  ein  gemixter."  At  Bethlehem, 
Pa.,  is  a  Moravian  cemetery,  with  a  printed  list  of  burials  during 
the  18th  century.  Nine  out  of  the  2600  names  are  listed  as  born 
in  Norway.  One  of  the  prominent  physicians  in  the  early  history 
of  North  Carolina  was  Dr.  Hans  Martin  Kalberlahn,  born  in 
Trondhjem  in  1722.  A  Scandinavian  Society  was  organized  in 
Philadelphia  in  1769  and  continued  active  until  1802.  It  was  re- 
organized in  1868  and  is  still  in  existence.  The  first  president  was 
Capt.  Abraham  Markoe,  a  Dane.  George  Washington  became 
an  honorary  member  of  this  organization  in  1783. 

In  his  "Nordmaend  in  Nieuw  Nederland,"  Torstein  Jaiir  pre- 
sents a  list  with  documentary  evidences,  of  Norwegians  who  lived 
and  labored  in  the  Dutch  colony.  For  example,  at  Troy,  New 
York,  Claes  Claesz  and  Jacob  Goyversen  from  Flekkerp',  Roelof 
Jansz  from  Marstrand,  who  came  over  on  the  ship  "De  Eendracht" 
in  1630.  In  1631  the  Dutch  patroon,  Van  Rensselaer,  made  a  three 
years'  contract  with  four  Norwegians  to  work  for  him  as  builders, 
farmers,  etc.,  at  Ft.  Orange,  New  York.  The  names  of  the  men 
are:  Andries  Christensen  and  Cornelius  Goverts  of  Flekkerp', 
Barent  Thoniz  of  Hellesund,  and  Laurens  Laurensz  Noorman. 
The  contract  is  found  in  the  "Van  Rensselaer  Bowier  Manu- 
scripts," pages  186-189.  In  1636  the  ship  "Rensselaerswyck" 
brought  over  from  Holland  38  passengers,  of  whom  seven  were 
Norwegians.  One  of  these  was  a  child  born  at  sea  on  a  stormy 
day.  His  parents  were  Albert  Andriessen  of  Fredrikstad  and 
wife  Annetje  Barents.  The  child  was  appropriately  baptized  Storm 
van  der  Zee,  in  honor  of  the  day  and  place.  One  of  the  leading 
pioneers  i  Schenectady,  New  York,  was  Arent  Bratt,  a  descendant 
of  Bishop  T.  O.  Bratt  of  Trondhjem,  and  of  the  ancient  Norse 
jarls.  Arent  is  the  ancestor  of  a  numerous  race  that  have  been 
active  in  the  making  of  New  York  State. 

One  of  the  interesting  bits  of   information  in  G.  T.   Flom's 


72  Norwegian  People  in  America 

"History  of  Norwegian  Immigration  to  the  United  States"  is  this : 
A  Norwegian  sailor,  Captain  Iverson,  settled  in  Georgia  some 
time  about  the  close  of  the  18th  century.  United  States  Senator 
Alfred  Iverson  from  Georgia  was  a  grandson  of  this  sailor  pio- 
neer. In  June,  1808,  Frank  Peterson,  a  Norwegian  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  Army.  He  was  stationed  at  Fort  Dearborn,  111., 
and  fell  in  1812  in  an  attack  by  500  Pottawattomie  Indians.  He 
was  one  of  the  "first  martyrs  of  the  West." 

J.  O.  Evjen's  book,  "Scandinavian  Immigrants  in  New  York, 
1630-1674,"  gives  biographies  of  thirty-four  Swedes,  ninety-seven 
Danes  and  fifty-seven  Norwegians  who  lived  in  New  York  during 
that  period.  Among  the  Norwegians  listed  is  Anneken  Hendricks, 
the  first  wife  of  Jan  Arentzen  Vander  Bilt,  the  ancestor  of  the 
Vanderbilts.  He  married  her  in  New  Amsterdam,  Feb.  6,  1650. 
She  came  from  Bergen,  Norway;  he  was  from  Utrecht,  Holland. 
They  had  three  children. 

Concerning  the  Norwegians  in  America  during  the  Colonial 
days  Jahr  cites  the  words  of  Linne:  "Ea  quae  scimus,  sunt  pars 
minima  eorum,  quae  ignoramus  (The  things  that  we  know  are 
only  a  very  small  part  of  what  we  do  not  know).  Jahr's  own  com- 
ment is  strikingly  true :  "Om  de  allerfleste  har  Saga  glemt  hvad 
hun  visste"  (Concerning  most  of  them  Saga  has  forgotten  what 
she  knew).  Halvdan  Koht  estimates  that  over  one-fourth 
of  the  immigration  to  the  Dutch  colony  at  New  Amsterdam  con- 
sisted of  Norwegians.  Rev.  Justus  Falckner,  the  first  Lutheran 
minister  to  be  ordained  in  America,  kept  a  church  record,  still  in 
existence,  which  contains  an  occasional  Norwegian  name.  For 
example:  On  October  12,  1707,  he  married  Peter  Johansen,  born 
at  Bergen,  Norway;  on  October  10,  1708,  he  baptized  Johannes 
Norman;  on  April  18,  1710,  he  baptized  Catharina  Noorman,  etc. 

3.    The  Modern  Period 

The  Norwegian  immigration  to  America  during  the  last  cen- 
tury can  best  be  understood  as  a  part  of  a  world  movement.  Such 
migratory  movements  occur  now  and  then  in  the  course  of  the 
centuries,  the  chief  cause  being  land-hunger. 

SinCe  the  Confusion  of  Tongues  at  Babel  and  the  first  disper- 
sion of  families  in  consequence  thereof,  the  world  has  beheld  many 

a  migration  of  the  races,  here  and  there,  back 
Norwegian  Immigra-  and  forth,  from  one  land  to  another.  Witness, 
tion  Part  of  a  for  example,  the  Patriarch  Abraham  and  his 

World  Movement       household  setting  out  for  the  Promised  Land, 

and  the  Children  of  Israel,  several  millions 
strong,  under  Moses  making  an  exodus  out  of  Egypt.  Or,  take 
the  pressing  of  the  Huns  into  Europe  in  the  4th  century  of  our 
era,  and  the  invasions  of  the  restless  Teutonic  tribes  in  the  5th 


The  Norwegians  in  America  73 

century — Goths,  Franks,  Vandals,  Burgundians,  Lombards,  Ger- 
mans, Angles,  Saxons,  Jutes — ,  pouring  south  and  west  with  ir- 
resistible force  and  fury,  seeking  new  homes  in  the  crumbling 
Roman  Empire.  The  Saracens  in  the  8th  century,  the  Scandi- 
navians in  the  9th,  the  Hungarians  in  the  10th,  the  Mongols  in 
the  13th,  the  Turks  in  the  15th,  are  further  examples  of  the  per- 
iodic phenomena  of  whole  races  suddenly  starting  to  migrate, 
almost  after  the  fashion  of  De  Quincy's  "Flight  of  a  Tartar 
Tribe." 

These  sudden  and  vast  migrations,  however,  are  not  more 
stupendous  and  awe-inspiring  than  the  immigration  of  the  Eu- 
ropeans and  other  peoples  to  America  during  the  last  hundred 
years,  though  quite  different.  The  great  migrations  of  the  early 
centuries  were  nearly  always  accompanied  by  violence  and  blood- 
shed, by  conquest  .and  subjugation  of  the  native  population.  The 
immigration  to  America  has  been  peaceful.  The  immigrants  came 
to  America,  not  to  conquer  the  country  by  force  and  to  change  its 
language  and  laws,  but  to  find  here  greater  freedom  in  religious, 
political  and  economic  matters  and  better  opportunities  to  make 
a  living.  They  have  willingly  worked  hard  to  transform  deserts 
into  gardens;  they  have  vied  with  one  another  in  the  making  of 
America.  Each  national  group  has  contributed  its  quota  of  citizens, 
and,  in  the  blending  of  the  races  through  intermarriage,  has  a 
part  in  the  creation  of  a  brand  new  race,  the  American  people. 
Each  people  that  came  here  brought  along  with  it  some  of  the 
culture  of  its  home  land,  and  some  of  this  has  been  transplanted 
to  American  soil. 

Norway  has  never  sent  her  criminals  or  paupers  to  America ; 
she  strives  to  take  care  of  these  unfortunates  herself.  She  has 
given  to  America  a  goodly  share  of  the  strong- 
Relative  Position  est  and  most  ambitious  young  men  and  women 
of  the  Norwegian  that  she  has  been  able  to  foster.  In  olden  days 
Immigration  it  was  chiefly  the  ruling  classes  that  emigrated, 

for  the  reason  that  they  did  not  wish  to  submit 
to  an  overlord.  In  modern  times  it  has  been  chiefly  the  working 
classes  that  have  left  for  America.  Says  the  United  States  Im- 
migration Commission  in  its  report,  giving  a  statistical  review 
from  1820  to  1910 :  "Norway  has  sent  a  larger  per  cent  of  its 
population  to  America  than  any  other  country  excepting  Ireland. 
Considering  the  smallness  of  its  population,  but  little  over  2,000,- 
000  (in  1910),  as  compared  with  the  72,000,000  of  Germans  and 
40,000,000  of  English,  Scotch  and  Irish,  it  has  done  its  full  share 
in  populating  America." 

As  compared  with  Denmark  and  Sweden,  sister  Scandinavian 
countries,  the  emigration  from  Norway  from  1821  to  1920  was 
as  follows : 


74 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Per  Cent  of 
Country  Population     Immigration     Scandinavian 

1920  1821-1920         Immigration 

Sweden 5,847,637  1,144,607  63.5 

Norway 2,691,855  693,450  32.4 

Denmark 3,268,907  300,008  14 1 

Total 1 1,808,399  2,138,065  100.0 

Out  of  every  1000  Scandinavian  immigrants,  141  have  been 
Danes,  324  Norwegians,  and  535  Swedes. 

As  compared  with  the  total  immigration  to  the  United  States 
during  the  period  1821-1920,  the  part  Norway  has  played  is  quite 
small,  being  only  a  trifle  over  2%  of  the  whole.  This  century  of 
immigration  is  in  point  of  numbers,  really  the  greatest  migration 
of  peoples  in  the  history  of  mankind.    Over  33  millions  of  people 


Northern  Europe 


We&tern  Europe 

and  ' 

Canada 


\y 

Z5? 

Z5f 

25?» 

Z5f 

/\ 

/N 

Eastern  Europe 


Southern  Europe 

and 

Latin     America. 


Sources  or  Immigration  to  U.  0. 
1620  -    1920 


came  to  the  United  States  in  this  period,  an  average  of  over 
330,000  a  year.  The  bulk  of  the  immigration  during  the  first  80 
years  came  from  western  and  northern  Europe;  during  the  last 
20  years  it  has  come  from  eastern  and  southern  Europe.  The 
following  table  gives  a  comparison  of  the  six  principal  sources 
of  this  immigration  : 

Country "  Population     Immigration  Per  Cent  of 

1821-1920  Immigration 

Great  Britain    47,157,749  8,333,710  24.6 

Germany 60,900,197  5,533493  16.4 

Scandinavia 11,808,399  2,138,065  6.4 

Total  W.  and  N 119,866,345         16,005,268  47.4 


The  Norwegians  in  America 

Italy 36,120,118  4,199,653 

Austria-Hungary 50,000,000  4,073,143 

Russia 175,000,000  3,437,102 

Total  E.  and  S 261,120,118  11,709,898 

All  Other  Countries  1,300,000,000  6,088,108 

Grand  Total    1,680,986,463  33,803,274 


75 


12.2 
12.1 
10.2 


34-5 


1 00.0 


1&20  iftn-o  jafco  1S80        *<?o< 

The  Mam  Streams  of  lmmigiation  into  the  U.  S.,  1820-1920.     (The  width  ' 
of  the  stream  indicates  the  number  of  immigrants  year  by  year) 

Main    Streams   of    Immigration,    1820-1920 


Some  of  the  causes   of  the   Norwegian   immigration  may  he 

called   general ;    others,   specific.    The   most   pronounced   general 

causes    were :     The    immigration    to    America 

Causes  of  the  Nor-    Was  a  world  movement,  and  this  movement  was 

wegian  Immigration    mainly  an  economic  one. 

The  immigration  was  a  world  movement. 
Never  before  in  history,  except  at  the  first  dispersion  at  Babel,  has 
there  been  such  a  wide-spread  and  general  migratory  movement  as 
in  the  19th  century.  A  century  ago  the  United  States  consisted  of 
hardly  more  than  a  narrow  fringe  of  settlements  along  the  Atlantic. 
The  population  in  1820  was  only  9,638,453,  of  whom  77%  lived 
east  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  The  task  that  lay  before  the  orig- 
inal settlers  was  immense.  There  was  in  front  of  them  to  be  subdued 


76 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


WAVE  OF  IMMIGRATION  into  the  Umted  States.  FROM  ALL  COUNTRIES,  during  the  past  100 

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! :  iff  I  f-fltili'llf  I  rrt^-fr  I  Iriiliiilff  I  TS~i1  III 

|^^^ffi^y^i^^^^^@^l^ll^^^§^i^^^^^PI^^ 

! — 

irivau.  .«»  to  „.,„.  amw.    .*t.m»ted  ..MVm  .770  TO  ,820. 

WUX» 

....  -s.  a 

Curve  of  Immigration,  1820- 1920 


a  vast  wilderness  over  3,000  miles  long  and  2,000  miles  wide. 
America  called  for  men  to  develop  its  seemingly  limitless  domains, 
and  the  call  was  heard  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  by  horny-handed 
sons  of  toil.  But  it  was  not  only  the  United  States  of  America 
that  needed  men.  Also  the  rest  of  North  America  and  South 
America — Canada,  Mexico,  Brazil,  Argentina,  in  fact,  every  coun- 
try of  the  new  world,  besides  Australia  and  South  Africa.  The 
United  States  did  not  make  any  vigorous  efforts  to  induce  im- 
migration either,  and  did  not  legislate  much  concerning  immigra- 
tion before  1883,  when  it  was  found  necessary,  on  account  of  the 
change  in  the  character  of  the  immigration,  to  make  laws  control- 
ling and  restricting  immigration.  The  so-called  "Old  Immigra- 
tion," from  1820  to  1880,  came  mainly  from  western  and  north- 
ern Europe,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  Irish,  consisted  of 
Protestant  stock;  the  "New  Immigration,"  from  1880  to  1925,  has 
come  mainly  from  eastern  and  southern  Europe,  and  consists 
mainly  of  Catholic  stock. 

According  to  the  estimate  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Statistics,  only  250,000  immigrants  were  received  from  1776  to 
1820,  or  only  10,000  per  annum.  From  1820  down  to  the  present 
the  immigration  stream  has  constantly  increased,  without  fluctuat- 
ing to  any  great  extent  except  when  it  has  been  checked  by  natural 
and  artificial  barriers.  The  great  financial  panics  which  this  coun- 
try has  experienced,  and  the  wars,  have  been  powerful  natural 


The  Norwegians  in  America 


77 


barriers  in  stemming  the  tide  of  immigration.  The  United  States 
laws  against  the  admission  of  criminal,  pauper,  defective  and  dis- 
eased aliens  and  against  contract  labor  and  ticket  agents  as  means 
of  securing  immigrants,  the  application  of  literacy  tests,  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  Chinese  and  the  limiting  of  the  quota  of  immigrants 
that  may  come  each  year,  are  artificial  barriers  against  immigra- 
tion.   It  is  clear,  then,  that  during  the  19th  century  there  was  a 


B^SnK^^^EwBiHi 

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Ml  **  ^kJ 

5ufa  '"^^ 

i§t\m    wk 

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.,,:■,-■■  :;?{';•■:,■,;.  ,:^„~';!:i.*. 

A  Modern  Steamship 


world  movement  toward  the  United  States,  and  the  Norwegians 
naturally  took  part  in  it.  The  movement  took  the  form  of  an 
epidemic  and  is  often  characterized  as  the  "America  Fever." 

This  world  movement  was  mainly  economic,  at  least  as  far  as 
the  Norwegians  were  concerned.  It  is  true  that  in  Norway,  too, 
there  was  some  cause  for  religious  and  political  discontent.  The 
State  Church  in  the  18th  century  had  become  rationalistic  and  re- 
sented the  activities  of  pietistic  reformers  like  Hauge,  and 
the  sectarians  that  began  to  get  a  foothold  in  Norway,  as,  for 
instance,  the  Quakers.  It  is  true  that  the  leaders  of  the  famous 
Sloop  "Restaurationen"  were  Quakers  and  that  they  looked  for 


78  Norwegian  People  in  America 

greater  religious  freedom  in  America  than  in  Norway.  Still,  it 
must  be  noted  that  there  were  only  ten  (or  twelve)  Quakers  in 
Norway  in  1825,  and  some  of  these  never  emigrated  at  all.  It  is 
true  also  that  some  emigrated  from  Norway  so  as  to  escape  mili- 
tary service,  which  was  obligatory.  Nevertheless,  it  is  generally 
agreed  that  the  Norwegians  came  to  America  to  improve  their 
living.  They  found  this  a  good  land,  and,  like  Thorvald,  the 
brother  of  Leif  the  Discoverer,  they  have  said :  "And  here  I 
should  like  to  make  my  home." 

Of  more  specific  causes,  and  minor  influences,  there  have  been 
many,  varying  with  time  and  place.  As,  for  example :  Letters 
from  relatives  and  friends  in  America,  with  possibly  an  inclosure 
of  money  or  a  ticket  to  America,  and  a  promise  of  a  job  at  good 
pay ;  the  visit  to  Norway  of  Norwegian-Americans  and  their  color- 
ful accounts  of  America ;  the  study  of  geography  and  history ;  the 
publication  of  books  on  America ;  the  emigrant  societies  and  mis- 
sions ;  the  activity  of  steamship  ticket  agents  and  sub-agents  in 
selling  tickets ;  the  introduction  of  machinery  and  steam  and  elec- 
tric power ;  the  improved  means  of  transportation  and  communica- 
tion ;  at  times,  the  cut-rate  fares  for  steerage  passengers ;  the 
Homestead  laws ;  the  discovery  of  gold ;  the  hope  of  greater  free- 
dom and  better  prospects  in  America ;  the  desire  for  adventure 
and  the  call  of  the  far-away ;  the  assurance  that  they  would  find 
good  neighbors  in  America. 

The  way  to  get  friends  is  to  be  one  yourself,  and  the  way  to 
get  good  neighbors  is  to  be  a  good  neighbor.    The   Norwegians 

have  been  good  neighbors  to  the  other  Amer- 
The  Neighbors  icans,  and  they  have  found  them  good  neigh- 

in  America  bors.  as  dear  as  their  own  kith  and  kin.    The 

story  of  the  Norwegian  people  in  America 
could  not  be  adequately  or  truthfully  told  without  some  reference 
to  the  sterling  character  and  considerate  helpfulness  of  these  kind 
neighbors. 

First  of  all,  the  Americans  of  English  descent,  the  so-called 
Anglo-Saxons,    often   called   "The  Americans."    Through    early 

colonization  and  conquest  they  laid  claim  to 
The  English  the  whole  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  and  later 

through  war,  purchase  and  treaty  extended 
their  possessions  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  They  de- 
termined the  language  of  the  country,  its  form  of  government  and 
most  of  its  institutions  and  opportunities  for  advancement.  Dur- 
ing the  17th  and  18th  centuries  they  were  the  main  contributors 


The  Norwegians  in  America  79 

to  the  population  of  America.  During  the  18th  century  the  Scotch- 
Irish  and  the  Germans  migrated  in  almost  equal  numbers,  and  their 
combined  migration  was  nearly  that  of  the  English  for  the  century. 
But  these  newcomers  were  compelled  to  settle  down  as  frontiers- 
men, and  to  leave  to  their  English-sprung  predecessors  the  more 
prominent  occupations  of  politics,  the  professions,  education,  lit- 
erature, trade,  commerce,  army  and  navy.  From  1820  to  1920 
only  2,591,231,  or  7.4%,  of  the  total  immigration,  came  from 
England.  Still,  the  English  have  easily  maintained  their  position 
as  the  most  eminent  and  influential  people  in  America.  They  are 
not  handicapped  by  language  or  other  foreign  "taint."  They  oc- 
cupy, as  a  rule,  controlling  positions  in  every  walk  of  life.  Nearly 
all  the  presidents  have  been  of  English  lineage ;  most  of  the  gov- 
ernors. They  have  furnished  most  of  the  editors  of  the  great 
dailies  and  the  heads  of  school  systems  and  universities.  The  great 
American  authors  are  nearly  all  English,  and  the  captains  of  in- 
dustry. The  culture  of  the  American  schools  and  the  ideals  of 
America,  as  a  whole  are  mainly  from  England,  by  way  of  New 
England.  The  English  have  been,  as  a  rule,  kind  masters ;  the 
other  races  faithful  servants. 

Second  in  importance  in  the  making  of  this  nation  are  the 
Scotch-Irish-Welsh — the  Celtic  branch  of  the  British  race.  In  the 
century  1820-1920,  4,670,805  Irish  immigrated 
The  Celts  to    the    United    States,    748,788    Scotch    and 

262,921  Welsh— a  total  of  5,682,514  for  the 
group,  over  twice  as  many  as  from  England.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  in  1920  the  combined  strength  of  the  Scotch,  Irish 
and  Welsh  in  America  was  a  little  greater  than  that  of  the  English 
— 18,132,344  Celts  to  17,501,165  Englishmen  out  of  a  population 
of   105,710,620. 

Ireland  has  the  distinction  of  sending  more  of  her  people  here 
than  she  kept  at  home.  The  governor  of  Pennsylvania  in  1728 
complained  that:  "It  looks  as  if  Ireland  were  to  send  all  her  in- 
habitants hither."  Having  come  from  the  British  Isles  and  speak- 
ing the  English  language,  the  Irish  were  from  the  start  more  on 
a  par  with  the  English  element  and  were  at  once  admitted  into  the 
controlling  governmental  and  social  circles.  Out  of  their  midst 
have,  therefore,  come  some  of  the  presidents  of  the  United  States, 
as,  Andrew  Jackson,  Zachary  Taylor,  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  William 
McKinley  and  Woodrow  Wilson,  and  hundreds  of  men  famous  in 
politics,  army,  navy,  business,  education,  etc.  Commons  says  of 
the  Scotch-Irish  :  "They  were  very  little  Scotch  and  much  less 
Irish.  They  were  called  Scotch  because  they  lived  in  Scotia  and 
they  were  called  Irish  because  they  moved  to  Ireland.  They  were 
a  mixed  race  through  whose  blood  ran  the  Celtic  blood  of  the 


80  Norwegian  People  in  America 

primitive  Scot  and  Pict,  the  primitive  Briton,  the  primitive  Irish, 
but  with  a  larger  admixture  of  the  later  Norwegian,  Dane,  Saxon 
and  Angle."  Burr  says :  "It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  Eng- 
lishman, Scotchman,  Welshman  or  Irishman  has  the  greater  de- 
gree of  Nordic  blood  in  his  veins." 

The  Dutch  settled  in  New  Amsterdam  (now  New  York)  as 
a  business  venture,  although  some  of  them  were  Walloons  fleeing 

oppression  in  the  Spanish  Netherlands.  Cap- 
The  Dutch  tain  Hendrick  Hudson  discovered  New  York 

Harbor  in  1609  and  'Dutch  traders  built 
some  huts  on  the  Manhattan  Island  in  1613.  About  one-fourth  of 
the  early  colonists  were  Scandinavians.  In  1664  an  English  fleet 
came  to  anchor  in  the  harbor  and  took  possession  of  the  city  in 
the  name  of  the  Duke  of  York.  The  town  was  named  New  York 
after  him.  The  Dutch  soon  lost  their  language  and  assimilated 
with  the  English  readily,  being  of  close  kin  as  to  race,  language 
and  institutions.  During  the  century  1820-1920,  339,639  Dutch 
were  admitted  to  the  United  States.  In  1920  the  estimated  num- 
ber of  people  of  Dutch  descent  in  America  was  2,233,503.  Two 
of  our  presidents  have  come  from  this  stock — Martin  Van  Buren 
and  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

In  the  period  1820-1920,  France  gave  to  the  United  States 
only  352,752  of  her  sons  and  daughters  and  the  estimated  French 
population  in  the  United  States  in  1920  was 
The  French  only    703,590.     France    had    naturally    been 

eager  to  share  with  Spain  in  the  profits  which 
the  new  discovery  of  America  brought.  She  sent  out  Verrazano 
and  Cartier  to  explore.  Ribaut,  Laudonniere,  Champlain,  Mar- 
quette, La  Salle,  Hennepin  and  Nicollet  are  names  of  well-known 
French  explorers  and  colonizers. 

In  1562  Admiral  Coligny  of  France  sent  Ribaut  to  plant  a 
colony  for  his  persecuted  Huguenot  brethren,  at  that  time  still 
known  as  Lutherans.  A  settlement  was  made  at  Port  Roya^  S.  C. 
In  1564  another  settlement  was  made  at  Ft.  Caroline,  Fla.  A 
Spaniard  named  Menendez  fell  upon  this  peaceable  colony  in  1565 
and  massacred  every  one.  According  to  Challeaux  and  Parkman, 
Menendez  hanged  his  prisoners  on  trees  and  placed  over  them  the 
inscription :  "I  do  this,  not  as  to  Frenchmen,  but  as  to  Luther- 
ans." 

In  the  next  two  centuries  following  this  massacre  the  French 
occupied  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Mississippi  valleys  and  the  English 
were  held  down  to  a  narrow  strip  along  the  Atlantic  Coast. 
Eventually  there  was  a  war  between  the  English  and  the  French 
(the  French  and  Indian  War),  in  which  France  was  defeated, 


The  Norwegians  in  America  81 

and  Canada  and  the  French  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi  in 
1763  were  ceded  to  England. 

In  1803  Thomas  Jefferson  purchased  from  France  the  terri- 
tory west  of  the  Mississippi,  known  as  Louisiana,  for  $15,000,000 
— about  2  cents  per  acre. 

The  early  French  settlers  of  the  United  States  are  of  special 
interest  to  the  Norwegians  because  of  kinship  by  way  of  Nor- 
mandy. Commons  calls  them  "a  select  class  of  people,  the  most 
intelligent  and  enterprising  people  in  the  17th  century."  Says 
Ross :  "Probably  no  stock  ever  came  here  so  gifted  and  prepotent 
as  the  French  Huguenots.  They  have  the  same  affinity  for  ideals 
and  the  same  tenacity  of  character  as  the  founders  of  New  Eng- 
land, but  in  their  French  blood  they  brought  a  sensibility,  a  fervor 
and  artistic  endowment  all  their  own."  Burr  shows  that  the  French 
Huguenots  who  came  to  America  were  "recruited  from  among  the 
gentry  who  were  preponderantly  of  Nordic  blood,"  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  French  Catholics  who  settled  in  Quebec  did  not 
have  the  Norse  strain. 

According  to  Douglas  Campbell,  A.  B.  Faust,  E.  A.  Ross,  and 
J.  R.  Commons  and  the  census  reports,  every  fourth  white  person 

in  the  United  States  is  a  German.  The  Ger- 
The  Germans  mans   came  here  early — there  was  a  German 

— Tyrker — along  with  Leif  Erikson  in  the 
year  1000.  There  were  Germans  along  with  the  Dutch,  and  the 
first  governor  of  New  Netherlands  was  Peter  Minuit,  a  German. 
William  Penn  shrewdly  mixed  business  with  religion.  In  his  trip 
to  the  Rhineland  in  1677,  he  made  converts  and  induced  them  to 
buy  land  in  Pennsylvania,  the  first  band  reaching  Germantown  in 
1683.  Francis  II  of  France  used  harsh  measures  against  the  Lu- 
therans in  his  realm.  He  employed  every  refinement  of  cruelty, 
such  as,  burnings  and  hangings  as  after  dinner  entertainment  for 
the  ladies.  This  led  to  an  exodus  of  Lutherans.  Most  of  them 
came  to  America.  Angry  at  the  Germans  and  Dutch  for  shelter- 
ing his  hunted  subjects,  Louis  XIV  of  France  invaded  the  Palat- 
inate which  became  the  scene  of  French  fire,  pillage,  rapine  and 
slaughter.  The  people  were  expected  to  change  their  religion  to 
suit  their  rulers.  At  the  same  time  they  were  forbidden  to  emigrate 
on  pain  of  death.  Tired  of  these  long-endured  miseries,  the 
French  and  German  Lutherans,  under  the  protection  and  aid  of 
England,  came  to  America.  They  settled  in  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, Maryland,  Virginia,  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia.  Penn- 
sylvania especially  attracted  them,  on  account  of  which  it  has 
been  called  the  German-American's  Holy  Land.  In  1790, 
176,707,  or  5.6%  of  the  people  in  the  United  States  had  German 
surnames.  During  the  past  100  years  they  have  come  to  America 
for  religious,  political  and  economic  reasons.     Between  1839  and 


82 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Distribution  of  Germans 

(From  E.  A.  Ross'  "The  Old  World  in  the  New."    Copyright,  1914, 
by  The  Century  Co.,   New  York) 


1845  many  Lutherans  left  their  Fatherland  because  they  re- 
sented the  attempts  of  their  leaders  to  unite  the  Lutherans  and 
Reformed  faiths.  Here  in  America  their  conservatism  in  doc- 
trine and  practice  has  created  the  Missouri  and  Wisconsin 
Synods  and  the  Synodical  Conference. 

The  chief  reason  why  Germans  have  come  to  America  has 
been  the  economic  one — America  needed  men  to  open  up  the 
West  and  America  paid  better  wages  than  did  Germany.  When 
Germany  began  to  develop  her  own  industries,  the  migration 
from  Germany  began  to  fall  off.  Over  90%  of  the  German  im- 
migrants have  come  from  the  poorer  classes,  who  settled  on  the 
frontiers  and  worked  in  the  humbler  stations  in  the  cities,  fac- 
tories and  mines.  Political  exiles,  who  came  here  after  the 
revolutions  of  1830  and  1848,  were  mainly  from  the  upper 
classes.  Among  them  were  university  professors,  professional 
men,  journalists,  and  aristocrats,  who  have  been  influential  in 
creating  a  sentiment  for  German  culture,  political  idealism,  social 
radicalism  and  religious  skepticism.  The  great  body  of  Germans 
have  been  God-fearing,  law-abiding,  hard-working  and  thrifty, 
loyal  to  this  country  in  war  and  peace.  They  have  been  rather 
slow  to  give  up  the  German  language  and  ways  entirely,  but 
this  is  no  evil  trait,  and  America  has  richly  gained  thereby.  The 
Germans    have   given   America,   not   only     willing   workers     on 


The  Norwegians  in  America 


83 


Distribution  of   Scandinavians 

(From   E.  A.  Ross'  "The  Old  World  in  the  New."     Copyright,   1914, 
by  The  Century  Co.,  New  York) 


farms  and  in  factories,  but  large  contributions  in  education, 
science,  music,  art  and  religion. 

The  German  is  of  close  kin  to  the  Englishman  and  the  Scan- 
dinavian ;  originally  these  peoples  were  of  the  same  race  and 
language.     He  had  the  same  spirit  and  ideals  as  they. 

From  the  time  of  Charlemagne  Germany  has  been  rather  too 
much  under  the  influence  of  Rome,  on  account  of  which  the 
real  Teutonic  spirit  as  shown  by  the  Norwegian  Vikings,  has  at 
times  been  suppressed.  It  broke  out  in  Luther  and  the  Reforma- 
tion, but  not  as  completely  as  in  Scandinavia  and  Great  Britain. 
Hence  40%  of  Germany  is  still  Roman  Catholic. 

The  Germans  make  good  neighbors  and  excellent  citizens, 
but  they  have  never  taken  a  leading  part  in  politics  to  the  extent 
of  furnishing  the  country  with  its  chief  executives. 

"In  the  colonial  period,"  says  John  W.  Burgess,  "almost  the 
entire  western  border  of  our  country  was  occupied  by  Germans. 
It  fell  to  them,  therefore,  to  defend  the  colonists  from  the  at- 
tack of  the  French  and  Indians."  Had  it  not  been  for  Germans 
like  Conrad  Weiser  this  country  might  still  have  been  French 
instead  of  English.  The  Germans  were  the  first  to  protest  against 
English  misrule.  Washington  had  a  German  bodyguard.  Baron 
Steuben  and  Peter  Muhlenberg  were  two  of  Washington's  most 
trusted  generals.  The  first  speaker  of  the  House  ofRepresenta- 
tives  was  F,  A.  Muhlenberg.     The  first  protest    against  human 


84  Norwegian  People  in  America 

slavery  on  American  territory  was  made  by  Germans  at  German- 
town,  April  18,  1688.  Lincoln  seems  to  have  had  a  German 
ancestry,  his  family  name  being  Linkhorn.  Thirty  per  cent  of 
the  soldiers  in  the  Union  Army  were  German,  although  at  that 
time  the  Germans  comprised  less  than  20%  of  the  people.  The 
first  ten  Amendments  to  the  Federal  Constitution  providing  for 
religious  freedom  and  other  natural  rights,  have  their  roots  in  the 
German  Reformation.  In  the  recent  World  War  when  nearly  all 
the  powers  of  the  world  fought  against  their  Fatherland,  German- 
Americans  were  loyal  to  the  United  States  despite-  a  propaganda 
of  suspicion  and  uncalled  for  persecution. 

The  Swedes  and  Danes  are  in  race,  language,  history,  cus- 
toms, religion,  etc.,  more  like  the  Norwegians  than  any  of  the 
other  peoples  in  America.  They  have  as  a 
The  Swedes  rule  occupied  the  same  sections  of  the  country, 

worked  at  the  same  tasks,  been  equally  suc- 
cessful. They  have  been  on  good  terms,  often  working  hand 
in  hand.  In  church  matters,  for  example,  there  has  been 
much  cooperation.  Of  the  Norwegian  men  who  do  not  take 
Norwegian  girls  to  wife,  55.1%  marry  Swedish  girls,  10.8% 
marry  Danish,  4.5%  marry  Finnish,  8.5%  marry  German,  and 
14.8%  marry  British  and  Canadian,  whereas  only  6.3%  marry 
non-Teutons.  Of  the  Norwegian  women  who  do  not  take  Nor- 
wegian men  as  husbands,  52.4%  marry  Swedes,  18.0%  marry 
Danes,  2.6%  marry  Finns,  8.6%  marry  Germans,  12.9%  marry 
Britishers  and  Canadians,  whereas  only  5.5%  marry  non- 
Teutons.  The  Norwegians,  then,  seem  to  be  closer  to  the 
Swedes  and  Danes  than  to  any  of  their  other  neighbors.  This 
is,  at  least,  the  case  with  the  first  generation,  concerning  which 
these  statistics  apply. 

The  Swedes  in  America,  as  also  in  Europe,  are  as  numer- 
ous as  both  the  Norwegians  and  the  Danes  put  together.  Sweden 
was  one  of  the  great  European  powers  in  the  17th  century,  and 
her  king,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  called  the  "Lion  of  the  North" 
and  the  "Snow  King,"  intended  to  compete  with  England  and 
Holland  in  the  colonization  of  the  New  World.  But  there  was 
being  waged  at  that  time  a  most  bitter  and  bloody  struggle,  the 
Thirty  Years'  War,  between  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  forces 
in  Germany.  The  Swedish  king  took  his  army  into  Germany 
and  saved  Protestantism,  although  at  the  price  of  his  own  life, 
for  he  was  killed  at  the  Battle  of  Liitzen  in  1632.  It  was  not 
until  1637  that  the  plan  to  establish  a  colony  in  America  could 
be  taken  up  in  earnest,  and,  unfortunately  it  had  soon  to  be 
abandoned.  The  first  expedition  of  Swedes  to  reach  America 
arrived  at  Fort  Christina  (now  Wilmington),  Delaware,  in 
March,  1638.     The  west  bank  of  the  Delaware  as  far  north  as 


The  Norwegians  in  America  85 

Philadelphia  was  at  once  bought  of  the  Indians;  forts,  churches 
and  other  buildings  were  erected  and  arrangements  were  made 
for  farming,  trading  with  the  Indians  and  doing  missionary  work 
among  them.  New  Sweden,  as  the  colony  was  called,  was  to 
include  Delaware,  New  Jersey  and  parts  of  Maryland  and  Penn- 
sylvania. In  1655  the  Dutch  made  war  on  these  peaceable 
neighbors  and  laid  claim  to  the  territory.  In  1664  the  English 
took  possession  of  the  land.  Meanwhile  the  Swedes  developed 
their  colony  as  best  they  could  under  Dutch  and  English  suprem- 
acy, and  are  in  many  respects  the  finest  of  the  early  colonists. 
They  issued  an  edict  of  toleration  the  very  first  year  of  their 
stay,  and  were,  in  fact,  with  the  exception  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
only  colony  that  practiced  toleration.  They  were  the  first  to 
treat  the  Indians  fair  and  square  and  to  try  to  Christianize  them. 
When  William  Penn  in  1682  sailed  up  the  Delaware  looking  for 
a  site  for  a  city,  he  chose  a  spot  where  stood  a  Lutheran  church 
and  a  Swedish  village.  The  Swedes  had  been  there  almost  fifty 
years  when  he  arrived  and  took  possession.  He  called  the  vil- 
lage Philadelphia.  Two  of  the  early  Swedish  churches  are 
still  standing,  the  Wilmington,  dating  from  1699,  and  the  Gloria 
Dei  Church,  in  Philadelphia,  dating  from  1700.  On  July  4,  1776, 
the  Liberty  Bell  was  rung  by  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 
The  first  American  flag  was  made  by  Betsy  Ross  and  the  women 
of  the  Swedish  Gloria  Dei  Church.  Between  1642  and  1779 
Sweden  sent  to  this  colony  41  pastors.  After  the  Revolution- 
ary .War  the  missionaries  were  recalled  and  the  Episcopal  Church 
gradually  took  over  all  the  Lutheran  congregations  of  the  early 
Swedes  as  their  brothers,  and  on  various  occasions  the  Indians  state 
that  they  were  unlike  the  white  people  of  Virginia,  "who  always 
shoot  the  Red  Man  dead  when  they  find  him  in  the  woods." 
William  Penn  said  of  them:  "They  have  fine  children  and  al- 
most every  house  full;  rare  to  find  one  of  them  without  three  or 
four  boys  and  as  many  girls ;  some  six,  seven  and  eight  sons. 
And  I  must  do  them  right — I  see  few  young  men  more  sober 
and  industrious."  In  the  colonial  period  John  Hanson,  a  Mary- 
land Swede,  was  the  first  president  of  the  "United  States  in 
Congress  assembled,"  and  John  Morton,  a  Pennsylvania  Swede, 
was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
J.  Fenimore  Cooper,  the  novelist,  was  of  combined  English  and 
Swedish  descent.  The  Swedes  of  more  recent  immigration  have 
all  the  good  qualities  of  the  settlers  on  the  Delaware  and  have 
made  good  in  many  conspicuous  ways.  The  country  still  talks 
of  Jenny  Lind  and  .Christina  Nilsson,  Swedish  singers  who 
sojourned  in  America  for  a  season.  The  country  will  not  soon 
forget  the  services  of  John  Ericsson  and  John  A.  Dahlgren 
during  the  Civil  War.  Ericsson  was  the  inventor  of  the  Moni- 
tor,  which   defeated   the   Merrimac,   and   Dahlgren   was   the   in- 


86  Norwegian  People  in  America 

ventor  of  the  Dahlgren  gun.   These  two  inventions  revolutionized 
naval  warfare. 

Citizens  of  Swedish  lineage  have  contributed  in  great  share 
to  the  material  progress  of  America  and  have  made  valuable 
additions  to  its  cultural  life.  They  have  cleared  and  cultivated 
over  12,000,000  acres  of  land,  a  little  over  4%  of  the  total  cul- 
tivated area.  They  gave  12.5%  of  their  total  population  to  the 
United  States  in  the  World  War.  On  the  same  basis,  if  all 
nationalities,  including  the  native-born,  had  contributed  an  equal 
share,  our  armies  during  the  war  would  have  totaled  12,500,000 
men.  They  have  built  over  2,000  churches  and  contributed  more 
to  church  schools  per  capita  than  any  other  nationality.  They 
have  a  good  record  as  authors,  editors,  musicians,  artists,  inven- 
tors and  manufacturers.  They  have  held  many  political  offices, 
including  six  governorships.  In  an  article  under  the  caption 
"Minnesota,"  by  George  Fitch,  copyrighted  in  1912  by  the 
"Globe,"  the  author  writes  in  part  as  follows  about  Gov.  John  A. 
Johnson :  "But  Minnesota's  greatest  feat  in  citizen-producing 
was  John  A.  Johnson,  who  would  have  mixed  up  the  Democratic 
convention  in  Baltimore  more  than  ever  had  he  lived.  Minne- 
sota mourns  his  death  sincerely,  but  has  100,000  more  Johnsons 
in  training  and  will  yet  produce  a  president  of  that  name." 
Thomas  F.  Bayard,  who  had  lived  in  a  Swedish  community,  said 
in  1888,  at  the  250th  anniversary  of  the  Swedish  immigration: 
"I  make  bold  to  say  that  no  better  stock  has  been  contributed 
(in  proportion  to  its  numbers)  towards  giving  a  solid  basis  to 
society  under  republican  forms,  than  these  hardy,  honest,  law- 
abiding,  God-fearing  Swedish  settlers." 

The  Danes  comprise  a  relatively  small  group,  their  total  number 
being  only   about      1%   of   the   white   population   in  the   United 

States.  They  rank  in  point  of  numbers 
The  Danes  eleventh  among  the  white  races  in  America, 

the  Germans  being  No.  1,  the  English  No.  2, 
the  Irish  No.  3,  the  Canadians  No.  4,  the  Austria-Hungarians 
No.  5,  the  Russians  No.  6,  the  Italians  No.  7 ,  the  Swedes 
No.  8,  the  Scotch  No.  9,  the  Norwegians  No.  10,  the  Danes 
No.  11,  the  Dutch  No.  12,  the  Welsh  No.  13,  the  Mexicans 
No.  14,  the  French  No.  15,  etc.  While  the  Scandinavians  are 
found  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States  they  are  not  distributed 
everywhere  in  the  same  proportion.  In  the  eight  New  England 
and  Middle  Atlantic  States,  for  example,  the  foreign-born  Scan- 
dinavians in  1920  were  distributed  as  follows:  Danes  16.7%, 
Norwegians  12.1%,  Swedes  24.2%.  In  the  16  Southern  states 
for  that  year  2.8%  of  the  Danes  were  located,  1.4%  of  the  Nor- 
wegians, 1.9%  of  the  Swedes.  In  the  eleven  Mountain  and 
Pacific  states  were  to  be  found  25.2%  of  the  Danes,   18.2%   of 


The  Norwegians  in  America  87 

the  Norwegians,  and  17.5%  of  the  Swedes;  and  in  the  twelve 
North  Central,  also  called  Northwestern,  states  we  find  65.3% 
of  the  Danes,  68.3%  of  the  Norwegians,  and  56.4%  of  the 
Swedes.  As  to  the  ranking  states,  California  had  9.9%  of  the 
Danes,  Iowa  9.5%  and  Illinois  9.0%;  Minnesota  had  24.8% 
Norwegians,  Wisconsin  12.5%,  North  Dakota  10.5%;  Minne- 
sota had  17.9%  Swedes,  Illinois  16.9%  and  New  York  8.5%. 

The  Danes  were  early  interested  in  America.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  King  Christian  I  of  Denmark  sent  the  John 
Scolvus  expedition  to  America  in  1476  to  discover  the  "Cod  Fish 
Country."  In  1568  King  Frederick  II  sent  an  expedition  to  re- 
discover Greenland.  In  1579  he  sent  another  expedition  to  find 
Greenland,  and  after  that  various  parties  were  sent  in  1605,  1607, 
1612,  1652,  1653,  1654,  etc.  In  1721  Hans  Egede,  a  Norwegian 
pastor,  was  sent  to  Greenland  to  take  up  missionary  work,  and  in 
1619  the  Norwegian  captain  Jens  Munk  was  sent  by  King 
Christian  IV  to  find  the  Northwest  Passage.  Munk  re- 
discovered the  Hudson  Bay,  only  eight  years  after  Hudson  him- 
self, and  took  possession  of  Canada  naming  it  New  Denmark. 
He  had  along  a  Lutheran  pastor,  Rev.  Rasmus  Jensen  (Aarhus), 
who  was  the  first  Lutheran  pastor  in  America.  In  1724  King 
Frederick  IV  sent  Vitus  Bering  on  an  exploring  expedi- 
tion, which  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  Bering  Strait 
between  Asia  and  North  America.  In  1733  Denmark  bought 
the  Virgin  Islands  in  the  West  Indies  from  France,  and  in  1916 
these  Islands  were  sold  to  the  United  States. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  Henrik  Hudson  was  a  Dane.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  there  were  Danes  with  him 
when  he  discovered  the  Hudson  River,  which  he  at  that  time 
called  Mauritius  Floden.  There  were  many  Danes  in  those  days 
that  made  the  trip  between  the  Danish  West  Indies  and  Denmark 
and  many  who  were  in  the  service  of  Holland.  Captain  Henrik 
Christiansen,  for  instance,  made  ten  trips  between  New  York  and 
Holland  in  the  years  1611-1614.  In  1614  he  was  killed  by  his 
friend,  the  Indian  chief  Orson  at  Ft.  Nassau.  There  were  many 
prominent  Danes  in  the  Dutch  colony  at  New  York ;  perhaps 
the  most  noted  of  these  was  Jonas  Bronck,  whose  name  is  per- 
petuated in  Bronx  Borough  of  New  York,  Bronx  Park  and 
Bronxville.  Bronck  came  to  New  York  in  1639  and  died  in 
1643.  Another  Dane  who  has  given  his  name  to  a  section 
of  our  country  was  Peter  Lassen,  who  in  1841  founded  the 
first  permanent  American  settlement  in  California.  Mt.  Lassen, 
the  only  volcano  in  the  United  States,  is  named  after  him;  also 
Lassen  County,  California,  Lassen  Pass  and  Lassen's  Big 
Meadows  of  Feather  River.  The  Danes  were  distinctive  in 
Washington's  army  and  in  all  the  more  recent  wars.  The 
Danish  farmers,  dairymen  and  buttermakers  are   famous  in  this 


38  Norwegian  People  in  America 

land.  The  first  creameries,  the  first  cow-testing  association,  the 
first  co-operative  dairy-farming  on  a  large  scale,  were  estab- 
lished by  Danish  farmers.  Qualities  of  good  citizenship  are 
highly  developed  in  the  Danes.  Recognition  of  this  was  given 
by  Theodore  Roosevelt  in  referring  to  his  friend  Jacob  Riis  as 
"the  best  American  citizen."  Riis  was  a  social  worker  in  the 
slums  of  New  York,  and  is  the  author  of  "How  the  Other  Half 
Lives"  and  "The  Making  of  an  American." 

The  population  of  Iceland  is  hardly  100,000,  so  small  in 
numbers  as  apparently  to  be  of  no  importance  in  immigration,  but 
viewing  the  history  of  this  remarkable  people, 
The  Icelanders  one   can   truly   use    the    current    expression : 

"Little,  but  oh  my !"  It  was  through  Ice- 
land that  Greenland  was  settled  and  America  was  discovered. 
It  was  Iceland  that  wrote  the  eddas  and  sagas  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  It  is  in  Iceland  that  we  find  the  Teutonic  race  and 
language  and  spirit  in  its  purest  forms.  Icelanders  have,  of 
course,  immigrated  to  this  country,  but  until  recently  they  have 
been  included  with  the  Danes.  They  have  settled  in  the  north- 
western states,  particularly  North  Dakota  and  Minnesota,  and 
in  the  Canadian  province  of  Manitoba,  besides  Washington  and 
Alaska.  Most  of  them  are  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and 
fishing.  They  have  a  fair  sprinkling  of  literary  men,  profes- 
sional men,  statesmen  and  artists. 

There  are,  of  course,  contrasts  among  the  Scandinavian 
peoples.  The  Danes  are  the  most  sociable  and  pleasure  loving, 
and  they  run  to  moderation  in  virtues  as  in  vices.  The  Norwe- 
gians are  the  most  unsociable  and  independent  in  their  ways.  The 
Swedes  are  the  most  refined  and  aristocratic.  O.  N.  Nelson 
called  the  Danes,  the  Germans  of  the  North;  the  Norwegians, 
the  Englishmen  of  the  North ;  and  the  Swedes,  the  Frenchmen 
of  the  North. 

Finland,  called  by  the  natives  Suomi   (Marshland),  is  a  land 
of  a  thousand  lakes, — "du  tusen  sjo'ars  land,"  as  Runeberg  calls 
it.    The   Finns   were   originally   a    Mongolian 
The  Finns  race,     but     through     intermixture     with     the 

Swedes,  Norwegians  and  Russians,  they  are 
Caucasian  in  appearance.  Christianity  was  forced  on  them 
in  the  12th  and  13th  centuries  by  Swedish  steel.  From  1157  to 
1809  Finland  was  a  province  of  Sweden,  during  which  time 
Swedish  was  made  the  official  language.  In  1524,  under  Gustavus 
Vasa,  king  of  Sweden,  the  country  became  Lutheran.  Under 
Sweden  the  land  enjoyed  most  of  the  privileges  of  a  free  state 
and  made  rapid  progress  in  industry,  religion,  literature,  art 
and  science. 


The  Norwegians  in  America  89 

In  1743  a  part  of  the  land  had  to  be  surrendered  to  Russia; 
in  1809,  the  whole  land.  For  100  years  Finland  was  the  freest 
part  of  the  Russian  Empire.  The  late  Czar,  about  30  years  ago, 
began  the  policy  of  Russianizing  Finland.  The  Russian  language 
took  the  place  of  Swedish  and  Finnish  as  the  official  medium. 
A  severe  censorship  of  the  press  was  enforced.  The  Lutheran 
religion,  claiming  99%  of  the  people,  was  subordinated  to  the 
Russian  Catholic.  The  Finnish  army  was  disbanded.  A  Rus- 
sian governor  with  absolute  authority  displaced  the  Finnish  par- 
liament and  officials.  There  was  no  need  for  this  change,  for 
the  Finns  were  peaceable  and  loyal  to  Russia.  They  were  as 
honest  and  intelligent  as  any  people  in  the  world,  and  their 
patience  and  industry  had  extorted  a  livelihood  out  of  a  cold 
and  sterile  soil.  So  when  Russia  began  to  rob  them  of  their 
ancient  rights,  they  began  to  leave  for  America.  Finland  had  in 
1897  a  population  of  2,352,000.  In  the  13  years  from  1893 
to  1905  Finland  lost  128,000  by  emigration.  All  except  37 
came  to  America.  From  1906  to  1914,  105,146  emigrated.  After 
the  World  War  Finland  obtained  her  independence,  on  account 
of  which  only  a  few  Finns  are  emigrating — only  26,105  from 
1915  to  1922. 

In  1920  the  Finnish  population  in  the  United  States  was  as 
follows:  Finns  born  in  Finland,  150,770;  Finns  born  here, 
1st  generation,  145,506;  Finns  born  here,  second  generation, 
75,842;  total  372,118.  They  generally  take  to  the  occupation 
of  their  homeland,  as  farmers,  fishermen,  lumbermen  and  miners. 
They  are  located  in  greatest  numbers  in  Upper  Michigan 
(23.7%),  Northern  Minnesota  (20.8%),  Massachusetts  (8.8%), 
Washington  (7.1%),  and  New  York  (6.1%).  The  remaining 
one-third  is  scattered  over  the  other  43  states.  Except  for  their 
race  and  language  they  can  be  considered  Scandinavians.  In 
race  they  are  about  one-fourth  Scandinavian.  Those  Finns 
who  do  not  marry  within  their  own  race  prefer  to  marry  Swedes 
or  Norwegians. 

The  neighbors  thus  far  mentioned  have  been  in  the  main 
Teutonic — hence  related  in  blood,  language,  literature,  religion, 
customs,  ideals,  history,  government,  etc.  They 
The  Other  have  therefore  understood   each   other   pretty 

White  Races  well  and  have  been  readily  assimilated  by  the 

American  Republic.  They  began  to  settle 
America  first  and  are  known  as  the  "Old  Immigration." 

The  other  white  races — especially  from  southern  and  east- 
ern Europe ;  from  Russia,  Poland,  Hungary,  Rumania,  Bulgaria, 
Greece,  Italy,  etc. — have  been  coming  here  in  great  numbers 
only  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years,  but  during  this  time  they 
have   supplied    America   with    over   three-fourths    of    the   immi- 


90  Norwegian  People  in  America 

grants.  These  are  called  the  "New  Immigration."  And,  since 
they  are  remote  from  the  original  American  stock  as  to  race, 
language,  religion,  ideals,  history,  government,  etc.,  they  are 
found  not  to  assimilate  so  readily  and  rapidly  as  the  "Old  Im- 
migration." Therefore  they  are  much  feared  and  many  laws 
are  made  to  restrict  and  regulate  their  coming.  They  are  con- 
sidered a  menace  to  American  lahor  and  standard  of  living,  are 
often  declared  to  be  criminal,  degenerate  and  hostile  to  demo- 
cratic institutions. 

It  is  true  that  southern  and  eastern  Europe  is  mainly  Catho- 
lic, while  northern  and  western  Europe  is  mainly  Protestant. 
It  is  also  true  that  northern  and  western  Europe  has  been  more 
literate,  progressive  and  free  than  southern  and  eastern  Europe. 
The  eleven  countries  of  northern  and  western  Europe,  for 
example,  in  the  period  1899-1910  had  only  sixteen  persons  in  a 
thousand  above  14  years  old  that  were  unable  to  read  and  write, 
while  southern  and  eastern  Europe  in  this  period  had,  in  eleven 
countries,  not  less  than  415  in  a  thousand  unable  to  read  and 
write.  Scandinavia  leads  the  world  in  literacy,  with  only  .4% 
who  cannot  read  and  write ;  Portugal  is  at  the  tail  end  in  Europe 
with  68.2%  illiterate. 

But  the  danger  from  southern  and  eastern  Europe  is  prob- 
ably not  so  great  as  it  is  thought  to  be.  The  people  from  these 
lands  came  here  because  of  oppression  or  poverty  at  home.  They 
appreciated  the  greater  political  and  religious  freedom  that 
America  offered  them,  and  the  better  wages  for  the  labor  of  their 
hands.  So  they  came,  in  ever  swelling  numbers,  until  the  World 
War  held  them  in  check.  The  migration  from  the  northern  and 
western  parts  began  to  fall  off  when  the  "New  Immigration"  be- 
gan to  set  in.  There  were  three  reasons  why  the  "Old  Immi- 
gration" was  falling  off :  The  best  American  land  had  been  taken ; 
the  home  countries  were  advancing  industrially  and  giving  about 
as  good  wages  as  America;  and  the  people  from  northern  and 
western  Europe  could  not  compete  in  salary  with  the  people 
of  southern  and  eastern  Europe,  whose  living  standards  were 
much  lower.  There  were  three  reasons  why  the  "New  Immi- 
gration" was  on  the  increase :  America  began  an  industrial  ex- 
pansion, has  changed  from  an  agricultural  to  a  manufacturing 
and  commercial  nation,  and  needed  cheap  labor ;  the  people  from 
southern  and  eastern  Europe  could  make  more  money  here 
than  they  could  at  home;  and  they  had  begun  to  long  for  the 
freedom  of  a  democracy. 

Meanwhile,  the  Americans,  especially  those  of  English 
descent,  looked  upon  these  last  newcomers  with  much  concern. 
The  best  students  of  immigration  do  not  think  that  America  is 
able  to  assimilate  them  and  remain  English  in  web  and  woof. 
Hunter  thinks  that  the  newcomers   are  inferior  and   degenerate 


The  Norwegians  in  America  91 

and  that,  by  intermingling  and  intermarrying  with  the  natives, 
they  will  lower  the  standards  of  American  manhood  and  ulti- 
mately annihilate  the  English  stock!  El  wood  urges  that  we 
avoid  "introducing  into  our  national  blood  the  degenerate  strains 
in  the  suppressed  peoples  of  southern  and  eastern  Europe." 
Burr,  Hall,  Jenks  and  Lauck,  Roberts,  Ross,  and  Warne,  each 
leans  strongly  toward  restricting  the  "New  Immigration"  to  a 
minimum.  The  legislation  of  Congress  is  decidedly  in  the  di- 
rection of  restriction.  The  Ku  Klux  Klan  has  declared  war  on 
this  immigration.  Other  organizations  and  agencies  work  for 
restriction  and  suspension.  America  must  be  for  Americans  and 
those  who  will  quickly  become  Americans.  This  is  the  burden 
of  their  cry. 

Still,  we  are  not  convinced  that  the  "New  Immigration"  is 
a  menace.  These  "new"  immigrants  are  trying  to  be  good  citi- 
zens. They  love  America  and  obey  the  laws  of  the  land.  They 
are  less  criminal  as  a  group  than  the  native-born,  public-school- 
trained  Americans.  In  1904  one  out  of  6,404  native-born 
Americans  was  in  prison  but  only  one  out  of  6,500  of  the 
dreaded  "degenerates"  from  southern  and  eastern  Europe. 

There  has  always  been  an  unwarranted  fear  of  the  foreigner, 
especially  if  he  speaks  a  foreign  language.  As  far  back  as  1817 
Niles'  "Register"  urged  that  the  immigrant  be  shoved  into  the 
interior.  In  1819  a  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Pauperism 
bewailed  the  menace  of  the  foreigner.  In  1845  the  native 
American  National  Convention  expounded  loud  and  long  on  the 
imminent  peril  of  the  Irish  immigration.  In  1852  the  American 
Party,  better  known  as  the  Know-Nothing  Party,  terrified  by  the 
swelling  tide  of  immigration  from  Germany  and  Ireland,  set 
up  the  slogan:  "Americans  must  rule  America."  The  name 
"American  Party"  was  adopted  because  its  members  as  100% 
Americans  advocated  that  only  Americans  should  hold  office. 
The  name  "Know-Nothing"  was  applied  to  the  party  because 
the  meetings  of  the  party  were  secret,  and  the  members,  when 
asked  the  aims  and  work  of  the  organization,  invariably 
answered:  "I  don't  know."  The  Civil  War  put  an  end  to  this 
party,  for  the  German,  Irish  and  Scandinavian  foreigners  re- 
sponded to  the  call  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  saved  the  Union. 
Thus  there  have  always  been  writers  and  speakers  who  fear  the 
foreigner. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  have  been  good  men  who  have 
pleaded  for  the  foreigner.  Thus  Hourwich  and  Steiner,  for 
example.  In  an  address  before  the  National  Conference  of 
Charities  and  Corrections,  at  Cleveland,  in  1912,  Cyrus  L. 
Sulzberger,  a  Russian  Jew,  said :  "On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1876, 
the  Centennial  of  American  Independence,  every  cell  in  a  Siber- 
ian  prison   was   decorated   with   scraps   of    red,   white   and    blue. 


92  Norwegian  People  in  America 

For  months  these  exiles  and  prisoners  had  saved  every  scrap 
of  suitable  color,  and  on  the  morning  of  our  Independence  Day, 
their  cells   blossomed   forth  with  this   expression   of   admiration 

and  love  for  American  freedom In  all  generations,  the 

saviors  of  mankind  have  come  from  among  the  poor.  Let  us 
not  have  it  on  our  conscience  that  we  have  closed  the  door  of 
opportunity  to  one  of  these." 

Up  to  the  close  of  1919  the  United  States  had  issued  five 
''liberty  loans" — two  in  1917,  two  in  1918  and  one  in  1919,  the 
last  being  known  as  the  Victory  Liberty  Loan.  In  these  five 
loans  $18,500,000,000  was  called  for.  Over  $24,000,000,000 
was  actually  subscribed.  21,000,000  people  subscribed  for  the 
Fourth  Loan.  One  of  the  posters  in  the  Victory  Liberty  Loan 
of  April,  1919,  was  drawn  by  Howard  Chandler  Christy,  en- 
titled "Americans  All!"  It  had  the  picture  of  an  American  flag, 
a  woman  in  front  of  it  placing  a  laurel  wreath  above  the  honor 
roll  of  men  who  had  given  their  lives  for  the  United  States. 
There  were  five  names  of  men  from  northern  and  western 
Europe :  Smith,  O'Brien,  DuBois,  Haucke  and  Knutson ; 
there  were  nine  names  of  men  from  southern  and  eastern 
Europe :  Gonzales,  Villotto,  Andressi,  Pappandrikopolous, 
Chriszanevicz,  Kowalski,  Turovich,  Cejka  and  Levy.  These 
were  all  Americans — "Americans  All !"  Here  were  both  Jew  and 
Gentile,  Greek  and  Barbarian ;  all  were,  as  Gavit  calls  them : 
"Americans  by  choice."  America  had  been  to  them,  as  Craig 
puts  it:  "God's  Melting  Pot."  The  massing  here  of  represen- 
tatives from  many  lands  should  not  hinder  them  from  becoming 
one  nation.  They  all  have  something  to  supply  and  something 
to  surrender  for  the  making  of  an  ideal  people.  "Stop  calling  the 
immigrant  a  problem,"  says  Shriver.  "How  would  you  like 
somebody  to  call  you  a  problem?"  Among  the  interesting 
things  in  Shriver's  book,  "Immigrant  Forces,"  is  a  table  showing 
the  proportion  of  immigrant  employees  in  various  industries. 
For  example:  94%  per  cent  of  the  people  engaged  in  making 
clothing  are  immigrants;  53%  of  those  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  boots  and  shoes;  71%  of  the  iron  and  steel  workers; 
79%  of  the  copper  miners;  72%  of  the  coal  miners;  89%  of 
the  oil  refiners;  80%  of  the  furniture  makers;  76%  of  the 
meat  packers;    93%  of  the  sugar  refiners. 

The  variety  of  races  in  America  is  astonishing.  America 
is  a  Babel.  A  newspaper  reporter  observed  that  in  New  York 
City,  66  languages  are  spoken  by  as  many  groups,  49  newspapers 
are  published  in  foreign  languages,  and  the  school  at  Mulberry 
Bend  has  children  of  29  nationalities.  Yet  all  these  eventually 
become  one  people,  with  one  language  and  one  flag. 


The  Norwegians  in  America  93 

For  mankind  is  one   in   spirit,   and   an   instinct  bears   along, 
Round  earth's   electric   circle,  the   swift   flash   of    right   or  wrong; 
Whether  conscious  or  unconscious,  yet  Humanity's  vast   frame 
Through  its  ocean-sundered  fibers  feels  the  gush  of  joy  or  shame, — 
In  the  gain  or  loss  of  one  race  all  the  rest  have  equal  claim. 

The  language  problem  is  no  doubt  the  most  important  and  dif- 
ficult of  the  problems  that  confront  any  immigrant  to  America 
who  can  not  speak  English  when  coming  here. 
The  Language  The  native  language  is  the  chief   medium  by 

Problem  which  an  immigrant  can  hold  on  to  the  cul- 

tural heritage  of  the  people  from  which 
he  sprang;  the  English  language  is  the  chief  medium  by 
which  he  can  gain  recognition  and  make  progress  in  this  country. 
At  first  he  struggles  hard  to  learn  the  English,  and  then,  if  he 
loves  his  heritage,  he  will  have  a  still  harder  struggle  on  his  hands, 
to  keep  up  the  use  of  his  native  tongue  in  his  new  home.  In  itself 
it  is  no  impossible  task  to  learn  to  speak  two  languages  readily. 
The  difficulty  lies  especially  in  this,  that  in  this  country  the  bi-ling- 
ual  situation  is  regarded  as  an  evil  that  may  be  tolerated,  but 
should  not  be  encouraged.  Those  who  use  two  languages  in  their 
homes  are  branded  as  "hyphenates"  and  "foreigners"  and  are  often 
handicapped  in  the  race  for  position  or  power.  The  little  children 
at  school  pledge  themselves,  not  only  to  one  nation  and  one  flag, 
but  also  to  one  language.  During  the  recent  World  War  the  for- 
eign-language population  suffered  much  humiliation  and  persecu- 
tion at  the  hands  of  those  who  could  speak  only  English.  In  at 
least  one  state  (Iowa)  it  was  forbidden  even  to  preach  in  a  for- 
eign language;  conversation  over  the  telephone  could  be  carried 
on  in  English  only.  It  was  urged  to  prohibit  the  printing  of  books 
and  papers  in  foreign  languages.  Men  were  actually  killed  on  the 
streets  for  using  a  foreign  language.  The  language  problem  has, 
of  course,  affected  the  Norwegians,  and  that  in  a  variety  of  ways, 
for  weal  or  woe. 

In  studying  the  language  problem  it  is  well  to  have  in  mind  the 
general  laws  of  language  rivalry  in  the  case  of  race  mixture.  Ac- 
cording to  George  Hempl,  there  are  four  conditions  under  which 
language  rivalry  takes  place.  Under  two  of  these  conditions  the 
foreign  language  wins  over  the  native,  and  under  two  the  native 
wins  over  the  foreign. 

When  vast  hordes  of  foreigners  come  into  a  country  and  con- 
quer it,  their  language  displaces  that  of  the  natives.  Examples  of 
this  condition  are  the  Anglo-Saxons  in  England  and  the  English 
in  America.  English  is  now  the  language  of  America,  enriched 
by  a  few  native  Indian  words  of  things,  as :  tomahawk,  toboggan, 
wigwam,  squaw ;  and  many  place  names,  as :  Illinois,  Wisconsin, 
Iowa,  Minnesota,  Dakota,  Decorah,  Winona,  Minnehaha,  Missis- 
sippi, Missouri,  etc. 


94  Norwegian  People  in  America 

When  the  conquerors  are  neighbors  who  reduce  the  conquered 
territory  to  a  province,  which  they  colonize  and  denationalize,  the 
language  of  the  conquerors  prevails  in  time,  but  is  apt  to  be 
learned  by  sound  substitution  and  to  be  considerably  mixed  with 
the  native  language.  Examples  of  this  situation  are :  The  Romans 
in  France,  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  the  Danes  in  Norway.  During 
the  Danish  supremacy  in  Norway,  Danish  became  the  official  lan- 
guage of  Norway,  but  with  Norwegian  pronunciation  and  a  good 
supply  of  Norwegian  words.  Since  1814.  and  especially  since 
1905,  the  Norwegians  have  been  striving  to  make  their  language 
like  the  modern  dialect  offshoots  of  the  Old  Norse. 

When  the  conquerors  are  a  comparatively  small  body,  their 
language  in  time  dies  out,  but  implants  upon  the  native  language 
its  terms  pertaining  to  government,  army,  navy,  and  all  spheres  of 
life  that  the  consquerors  control.  Examples  are  the  Northmen  in 
France  and  the  Normans  in  England.  Skeat  mentions  thirty- four 
words  which  the  Normans  in  England  had  brought  with  them  to 
France  from  Norway.  Thus  bondage,  from  the  Norwegian  "bon- 
de,"  a  small  farmer.  Scott,  in  his  "Ivanhoe,"  makes  one  of  his 
characters  say :  "Swine  is  good  Saxon.  And  so  when  the  brute 
lives,  and  is  in  charge  of  a  Saxon  slave,  she  goes  by  her  Saxon 
name,  but  becomes  a  Norman,  and  is  called  pork  (Lat.  porcus, 
swine),  when  she  is  carried  to  the  castle-hall  to  feast  among  the 
nobles." 

When  the  foreigners  are  immigrants  and  come  in  scattered 
bands  and  at  different  times  to  make  their  homes  in  a  new  country, 
then  the  native  language  wins  out  over  the  foreign  language.  As 
a  class  immigrants  become  servants  and  follow  the  humbler  call- 
ings. As  long  as  they  have  the  marks  of  the  foreigner,  they  can 
not  expect  to  occupy  many  ruling  positions  in  their  adopted  coun- 
try. The  immigrant  came  here  to  better  his  economic  position 
and  to  live  here.  It  is  to  his  advantage  in  a  financial  and  social 
way  to  learn  English  as  fast  as  possible.  He  is  given  to  under- 
stand that  it  is  also  to  his  advantage  to  remove  from  himself  as 
much  as  possible  every  taint  of  foreign  speech,  or  otherwise,  which 
may  keep  him  from  making  headway  as  an  American.  The  lan- 
guage of  the  immigrant  is,  according  to  this  stern  condition,  this 
relentless  law,  bound  to  die  out  sooner  or  later,  making,  as  a  rule, 
little  or  no  impression  on  the  native  language.  There  are  more 
Germans  than  English  in  America,  but  German  is  the  language 
of  an  immigrant  people,  while  English  is  the  language  of  the  rul- 
ing class,  therefore  English  must  prevail.  Though  German  has 
been  spoken  in  the  United  States  for  300  years  and  by  great  num- 
bers of  people,  and  though  it  has  been  taught  extensively  in  the 
public  schools,  it  has  scarcely  added  a  word  to  the  English  dic- 
tionary of  words.   English  is  the  dominant  language  in  America. 

In  the  light  of  these  laws,  then,  the  Norwegian  language  in  the 


The  Norwegians  in  America 


95 


United  States  is  doomed.  Individuals  and  groups  may  keep  it  up, 
and  even  speak  it  better  than  the  English,  but  English  will  never- 
theless go  marching  on  as  the  dominant  language  of  the  land. 
The  public  schools  of  the  land  encourage  the  study  of  foreign  lan- 
guages— a  little  Latin  and  less  of  something  else — but  they  do 
not  see,  or  want  to  see,  the  pedagogical  value  of  encouraging  and 
aiding  each  child  to  keep  up  the  language  of  his  immigrant  parents 
or  grandparents.  It  is  through  this  language,  more  than  anything 
else,  that  the  child  can  keep  in  touch  with  his  forefathers  and  their 
culture.  Without  this  language  tie,  a  person  does  not,  as  a  rule, 
seem  to  know,  or  care  to  know,  what  his  ancestors  stood  for. 


Norwegian 

Period 
162:5  - 1660 


Norwegian  -  American 
Period 

1660  -  1690 


American 

Period 
1690-1925 


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Periods  of  Norwegian- American    History 

The  story  of  the  Norwegians  in  America  may  be  divided  into 
three  periods — the  Norwegian  Period,  1825-1860;  the  Norwegian- 
American  Period,  1860-1890;  and  the  Ameri- 
The  Historical  can  Period,  1890-1925. 

Periods  jn  the   Norwegian   Period  the   Norwegian- 

Americans  were  more  Norwegian  than  Amer- 
ican. They  were  more  Norwegian  than  English,  in  language,  ideas, 
ideals,  worship  and  ways. 

In  the  Norwegian-American  Period  they  were  as  much  Amer- 
ican as  Norwegian.  They  spoke  both  languages  readily,  kept  pace 
with  the  events  in  both  countries,  built  their  own  higher  schools 
and  supported  the  public  schools  with  holy  zeal,  celebrated  the 
Seventeenth  of  May  and  the  Fourth  of  July  with  equal  fervor,  and 
loved  to  float  the  two  flags  of  Red,  White  and  Blue  side  by  side. 


96  Norwegian  People  in  America 

In  the  American  Period  most  of  them  speak  English  only, 
though  many  of  these  understand  Norwegian  well  enough  and 
can,  if  hard  pressed,  also  talk  it.  Most  of  the  Norwegian  higher 
schools  have  been  dismantled ;  the  Norwegian  summer  schools  are 
dying,  and  Norwegian  in  the  Sunday  School  and  young  people's 
society  is  of  the  past.  English  services  are  supplanting  the  Nor- 
wegian. Associations  are  formed  to  save  the  Norwegian — literary, 
cultural,  religious,  national.  Both  press  and  pulpit  try  by  fits  to 
revive  and  maintain  the  interest  of  the  young  in  Norwegian  and 
things  Norwegian.  The  Norwegian  language  is  introduced  into 
many  universities,  high  schools  and  even  common  schools,  but  it  is 
fast  disappearing  from  the  home  and  the  pulpit.  The  home  is  the 
best  language  training  school  in  the  world,  and  the  cheapest.  In 
the  American  Period  English  becomes  the  language  of  the  home. 
The  Norwegian-American  has  become  an  "American"  in  the  sense 
that  he  can  speak  only  one  language  and  looks  with  disfavor  upon 
the  "foreigners,"  or  "hyphenates,"  who  try  to  keep  up  a  bi-lingual 
existence. 


4.    Their  Place  in  History 

The  Norwegians  Discovered  America  first : 

In  876  Gunnbjo'rn  discovered  Greenland  and  stayed  there  over 
the  winter. 
The  Viking  Period        In  983  Eric  the  Red  rediscovered  Greenland 
and  made  it  his  home. 

In  983  Ari  Marson  discovered  Great  Ireland  (the  Chesapeake 
country)  and  made  it  his  home. 

In  986  Bjarni  Herjulfson  discovered  the  New  England  coast, 
but  did  not  land. 

In  1000  Leif  Erikson  set  out  to  find  the  land  that  Bjarni  had 
seen,  and  found  it. 

In  1476  John  Scolvus  made  an  expedition  to  find  the  "Cod 
Fish  Country"   (Newfoundland)  and  found  it. 

In  1477  Christopher  Columbus  visited  Iceland. 

In  1492  Christopher  Columbus  discovered  San  Salvador,  an 
island  400  miles  to  the  southeast  of  Florida. 

The  Norwegians  Settled  America  first : 

Greenland  is  a  part  of  North  America  and  Erik  the  Red  was 
not  only  a  colonist,  but  a  promoter  of  colonization.  He  called  the 
land  Greenland  in  order,  as  he  said,  to  attract  settlers.  Babcock 
says  of  Erik  the  Red:  "No  one  who  follows  the  career  of  Eric, 
as  outlined  by  the  often  unsympathetic  saga-men,  will  grudge  him 
this  hardly  won  triumph.  Few  characters,  if  any,  are  more  clearly 
presented  in  history ;  few  are  stronger  and  more  interesting.  A 
sea-king  who  never  marauded ;  a  just  man,  careful  of  what  was 


•  The  Norwegians  in  America  97 

confided  to  him,  yet  insisting  promptly  on  his  rights  at  every  cost ; 
a  conservative,  who  could  turn  explorer  off  hand  with  better  re- 
sults than  the  work  of  the  very  best ;  a  deadly  fighter  who  fought 
defensively  only;  a  man  of  hospitality,  cordiality,  cheerfulness, 
who  never  complained  except  when  his  Christian  wife  turned 
against  him  for  remaining  a  pagan.  He  made  the  Norse  Green- 
land, which  stood  as  his  monument  for  nearly  five  hundred  years. 
He  gave  the  name  by  which  we  know  it  still.  If  Greenland  be 
America,  he  was  the  first  explorer  of  any  part  of  America,  so  far 
as  we  know.  He  may  have  been  the  first  white  man  to  view  the 
more  immediate  American  shores.  At  any  rate  he  gave  to  the 
world,  and  sent  forth  upon  his  ventures,  the  historic  Leif  who 
is  first  of  record  as  making  that  discovery.  He  also  aided  in 
sending  forth  the  expedition  which  bore  Thorfinn  Karlsefne  and 
Gudrid  to  these  shores,  giving  Gudrid  in  marriage  from  his  house 
and  seeing  his  son  Thorvald  sail  off  to  death  in  their  company." 

Great  Ireland  was  a  part  of  North  America  and  was  settled 
by  Ari  in  983,  Bjarni  in  999,  Gudleif  in  1027,  and  possibly 
others. 

Vinland  was  a  part  of  North  America  and  Norsemen  from 
Greenland  attempted  at  various  times  to  settle  it.  History  tells  of 
Thorvald's  attempt  in  1002,  and  Thorfinn's  in  1007.  Bishops  of 
Vinland  were  regularly  appointed  from  1112  to  1409. 

There  were  Norwegians  in  America  throughout  the  Colonial 
Period,  not  many,  but  up  and  doing.    A  Norwegian  captain,  Jens 
Munk,  under  Danish  colors,  tried  to  find  the 
The  Colonial  Northwest  Passage,  later,  in  1912,  discovered 

Period  by  another  Norwegian,  Roald  Amundsen,  also 

the  discoverer  of  the  South  Pole.  The  Nor- 
wegians numbered  about  one-fourth  of  the  early  Dutch  colony  of 
New  Amsterdam  and  have  for  300  years  been  contributing  to 
the  upbuilding  of  these  United   States. 

This  book  will  try  to  show  in  part  what  the  Norwegians  have 
been  doing  in  the  last  one  hundred  years.  The  whole  story  can 
not  be  told  within  the  covers  of  any  one 
The  Modern  Period  book.  At  this  point,  we  shall  let  the  editor 
of  the  "Chicago  Dailv  Tribune"  speak  in  an 
editorial  September  25,  1924,  on  "Leif  Erikson's  Day"  (Sept.  29) 
He  is  speaking  of  the  Scandinavians,  and  not  of  Norwegians 
alone,  and  the  other  members  of  the  group  deserve  these  kind 
words  as  much  as  do  the  Norwegians.  "Swedes  make  good  citi- 
zens ;  Danes  and  Norwegians  make  good  citizens.  They  have  set- 
tled in  large  numbers  in  the  Northern  Middle  West.  They  have 
given  the  new  country  social  stability,  hard  work,  and  a  well  de- 
veloped countryside.  In  Chicago  there  are  90,000  born  in  Scan- 
dinavia.  In  Illinois  there  are  150,000.    In  the  United  States  there 


98 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


are  more  than  a  million.  There  are  few  Scandinavians  in  the 
jails  and  poorhouses.  Their  stock  adapts  itself  well  to  American 
conditions  and  American  life.  Saturday  is  Leif  Erikson's  Day.  He 
was  the  first  Scandinavian  immigrant.  He  came  in  the  year  1000. 
His  people  built  a  tower  or  so  and  drifted  out  again  into  nowhere. 
But  Leif  Erikson  gave  all  Scandinavians  a  proper  introduction  to 
America.  He  made  the  first  trans-Atlantic  trip.  The  other  day, 
Eric  Nelson,  along  with  Smith,  Harding  and  Arnold,  arrived  by 
air  from  around  the  world.  The  Norsemen  are  up  to  their  old 
stunts.  Scandinavians  are  born  pioneers  and  fighters.  America  can 
never  have  too  many  of  them.  They  are  builders,  whether  it  be 
a  farmstead  or  a  nation,  and  when  the  time  for  building  stops  they 
move  along  to  other  fields.  We  may  hope  that  America  never  will 
be  satisfied.  If  it  can  offer  always  something  to  build  and  a  new 
hope  there  always  will  be  good  men  around  with  yellow  hair  to 
do  the  job." 


August  Weenaas  David  Lysnes  Bjug  A.  Harstad 

Three  Norwegian  Church  Pioneers 


The  Norwegians  in  America  99 

NOTE  ON  THE  NORSE-AMERICAN  CENTENNIAL  MEDAL 

(As  soon  as  Congressman  O.  J.  Kvale  of  Minnesota  was  assured  by 
the  Post  Office  Department  that  the  two  special  postage  stamps  would 
be  issued  he  prepared  and  introduced  in  "the  House  of  Representatives  a 
bill  authorizing  the  striking  of  a  medal  at  the  United  States  Mint  at 
Philadelphia    in    commemoration    of    the    Centennial.     This    bill    was    in- 


v. 


\ 


V* 


V 


The    Norse-American    Centennial    Medal,    Front    View 

troduced  in  the  House  February  4,  1925,  and  later  introduced  in  the  Senate 
by  Senator  Peter  Norbeck  of  South  Dakota. 

When  the  bill  had  passed  both  the  Senate  and  the  House  Mr.  Kvale 
was  authorized  by  the  Centennial  Committee  to  secure  an  artist,  and  to 
make  all  arrangements  connected  with  the  coining  of  the  medal.  Ac- 
cording to  the  bill  the  medal  was  to  contain  "appropriate  emblems  and  in- 
scriptions." Mr.  Kvale  made  a  rough  sketch  of  what  he  considered  proper 
for  the  obverse  and  the  reverse  side  of  the  medal,  with  the  inscriptions 


100  Norwegian  People  in  America 

to  be  placed  on  it,  and  took  these  to  New  York,  where  he  secured  the 
services  of  James  Earle  Fraser,  considered  the  foremost  medalist  in  the 
United  States.  Mr.  Fraser  at  once  accepted  the  suggestions  both  as  to 
the  emblems  and  the  inscriptions,  and  put  other  work  aside  to  design  the 
medal.  Mr.  Fraser  himself  considers  it  "one  of  the  best  medals  he  has 
ever  done."    And  The  National  Commission  of  Fine  Arts,  in  passing  on 


\  \ 


\ 


The  Norse-American  Centennial  Medal,  Back  View 

the  medal,  not  only  approved  it,  including  the  date,  "A.  D.  iooo,"  but 
went  out  of  their  way  to  say  it  had  "especial  artistic  merit." 

The  medal  will  be  coined  to  the  number  of  40,000.  As  the  photograph 
shows,  it  is  octagonal  in  shape.  It  is  made  of  silver  identical  with  that 
used  in  the  Nation's  silver  coins,  and  approximating  a  half  dollar  in  size. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  this  is  the  first  commemorative  medal  to  be 
issued  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  Mint.  Other  medals  have  been, 
coined,  but  these  have  been  for  awards  in  the  case  of  expositions  and 
similar  events.) 


Statue  of  Liberty 


Chapter  V 

THE   NORWEGIAN    PERIOD,    1825-1860 

The  Norwegian  Period  covers  approximately  the  35  years 
from  1825  to  1860.  It  begins  with  the  coming  of  the  Sloop 
"Restaurationen."     It  ends  with  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War. 

1.  The  Historical  Background 

The  Norwegian  immigration,  being  a  part  of  a  world  move- 
ment, can  best  be  understood  in  the  light  of  contemporary  world 
events.   A  few  such  events  are  accordingly  herewith  set  forth. 

Marvellous,  indeed,  is  the  19th  century.  During  this  century 
Europe  was  able  to  give  to  North  America  about  25,000,000 
of  her  sons  and  daughters,  besides  many  millions  to  South  Amer- 
ica, Africa  and  Australia,  and  at  the  same  time  she  more  than 
doubled  her  population  at  home.  In  1800  the  population  of 
Europe  was  175,000,000;  in  1900,  it  had  increased  to  400,600,000. 

The  century  was  an  age  of  invention.  Invention  is  stimulated 
by  the  increased  contacts  between  men  and  the  needs  of  great 
masses  of  people.  Necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention.  Inven- 
tion, in  turn,  helps  to  bring  about  still  greater  intercourse  among 
men  and  adds  to  their  wants.  Among  the  inventions  of  the 
first  half  of  the  19th  century  was  the  application  of  steam  power 
to  transportation  and  to  industry.  In  1807  Robert  Eulton  built 
a  steamboat  and  sailed  it  up  the  Hudson.     In  1838  ocean  travel 


102  Norwegian  People  in  America 

by  steam  was  also  accomplished,  in  that  the  "Great  Western" 
crossed  the  Atlantic  in  15  days'  time,  thus  shortening  the  voyage 
by  about  eight  weeks.  In  1851  the  time  had  been  reduced  to  eight 
days.  In  1825  George  Stephenson  perfected  a  locomotive  that 
could  pull  passenger  cars  on  rails  at  the  speed  of  eight  miles  an 
hour;  he  improved  it  so  that  in  1829  he  could  move  along  at 
the  rate  of  35  miles  an  hour.  In  addition  to  this  change  in 
transit  and  transportation  there  were  many  improvements  in  the 
mail  service,  and  other  methods  of  communication.  The  postage 
stamp  came  into  use.  Mail  routes  and  regular  schedules  were 
instituted.  Express  companies  were  established,  as,  for  example, 
the  Adams,  dating  from  1840.  In  1844  Samuel  Morse  conceived 
the  idea  of  the  electric  telegraph.  In  1854  Cyrus  W.  Field  began 
to  lay  a  submarine  cable  and  in  1866  he  had  one  laid  across  the 
Atlantic.  The  first  message  sent  over  the  cable  was :  "What 
wonders  God  hath  wrought."  The  cable  had  revolutionized 
methods  of  trade,  for  by  it  the  market  prices  of  the  world  are 
daily  reported  in  the  newspaper  press. 

The  19th  century  was  an  age  of  machine-made,  instead  of 
hand-made,  wares.  It  was  a  factory  age.  Water  power  was 
harnessed.  Coal  was  mined.  Steam,  electricity,  gas,  oil,  were 
applied  in  a  thousand  ways  to  run  the  factories.  Machines  were 
invented,  one  after  the  other,  to  do  the  work  formerly  done  by 
hand.  The  invention  of  Portland  cement  in  1825,  friction 
matches  in  1827,  the  reaping  machine  in  1834,  rubber  boots  in 
1839,  daguerrotype  photography  in  1839,  the  steam  hammer 
in  1842,  the  typewriter  in  1843,  ether  as  anesthetic  in  1846,  the 
sewing  machine  in  1846,  Bessemer  steel  in  1855,  are  a  few 
out  of  hundreds  of  epoch-making  inventions  in  the  first  part  of 
the  19th  century.  In  1790  only  three  patents  were  taken  out  in 
the  United  States ;  in  1860  the  number  of  patents  issued  was 
4,778.  Between  1790  and  1860  the  total  number  was  43,431 ; 
between  1790  and  1916  the  total  was  1,125,000. 

These  inventions  promoted  immigration.  Distance  did  not 
mean  what  it  formerly  did.  The  continents  were  brought  closer 
together.  The  crossing  of  the  sea  had  lost  much  of  its  danger 
and  terrors. 

Besides,  there  were  going  on  great  changes  within  the  people 
themselves,  which  affected  them  even  more  profoundly  than  the 
external  changes.  Compulsory  education  at  public  expense  was 
gaining  a  foothold  in  all  the  more  progressive  lands.  The  era 
of  popular  education,  the  day  of  the  public  school,  was  being 
ushered  in.  The  greater  intercourse  among  the  nations  and 
between  the  people  within  a  nation,  resulted  in  a  growth  of 
fellow-feeling,  not  strong  enough  indeed  to  end  wars,  but  yet 
strong  enough  to  live  through  wars  and  increase  in  spite  of 
wars.      Politically,   the  keynote  of   the    19th   century   was   dem- 


The  Norwegian  Period 


103 


ocracy;  but  the  democracy  that  was  obtained  was  in  most  cases 
purchased  at  great  cost,  on  account  of  injustice,  persecution  and 
suffering,  through  riot,  revolution  and  war.  These  educational, 
social  and  political  changes  all  gave  an  impetus  to  obeying  the 
call  of  America :  "Come  over  and  help  us."  America  needed 
workers.  Here  were  dense  forests  to  be  cleared,  rich  mines  to 
be  developed,  fertile  prairies  to  be  cultivated.  Here  was  a  land 
that  had  an  open  door  policy  and  welcomed  the  stranger 
warmly. 

Great  Britain  was  in  the  midst  of  an  industrial  revolution 
following  immediately  upon  the  wars  with   Napoleon  and  with 

the  United  States  (1812-1814).  The  newly 
Europe  invented    machinery    put    men    out    of    work 

and  yet  increased  production.  The  return- 
ing soldiers  added  to  the  crowds  of  idle  and  hungry  men.     The 


Ole  Paulson 


Knut   Bj0rgo 


Elias   Harbo 


crops  were  poor ;  the  prices  were  high.  High  protective  tariffs 
(Corn  Laws)  made  it  well-nigh  impossible  to  get  food  supplies 
from  abroad.  Distress  and  discontent  stalked  throughout  the 
land.  Out  of  this  wide-spread  and  deep-felt  misery  came  a  cry 
for  redress,  a  cry  that  took  on  the  form  of  a  persistent  agita- 
tion for  legislative  reform.  Happily  many  reforms  were  in- 
stituted. Among  these  may  be  mentioned :  The  working  day 
was  shortened  from  15  hours  to  something  less;  child  labor 
was  prohibited ;  slavery  in  the  colonies  was  abolished ;  Dis- 
senters and  Catholics  were  given  the  right  to  vote ;  free  trade 
was  established ;  the  House  of  Commons  was  made  supreme, 
with  the  sovereign  as  a  figure  head.  During  this  period 
England  adjusted  herself  to  the  new  order  of  things  and  settled 
down  to  become  a  manufacturing  and  commercial  nation.  She 
therefore  sought  to  strengthen  her  colonial  possessions  and  power, 
a  policy  that  led  to  the  Opium  War,  the  Crimean  War  and  the 
East  Indian  War  (Sepoy  Rebellion).  In  the  years  1820-1860, 
744,285  emigrated   from  England  to  the  United   States,  47,622 


104  Norwegian  People  in  America 

from  Scotland,  and  1,952,943  from  Ireland,  a  total  of  2,744,850 
from  Great  Britain.  A  disease  called  "potato  rot"  destroyed  the 
potato  crop  of  Ireland  in  the  years  1845-1849,  causing  much 
suffering.  300,000  starved  to  death.  Over  1,500,000  came  to 
America. 

On  the  Continent  there  was  even  more  restlessness  than  in 
Great  Britain.  At  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  in  1814-1815,  the 
map  of  Europe  had  been  readjusted.  The  commissioners  at  this 
Congress  seemed  to  have  but  one  aim — to  put  everything  back 
as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  shape  it  was  before  the  French  Rev- 
olution. They  had  no  care  for  the  people;  the  princes  were 
their  only  concern.  France  was  made  a  monarchy.  Italy  and 
Germany  were  divided  among  a  horde  of  petty  tyrants.  The 
partition  of  Poland  was  ratified.  And  so  forth.  But  the  day 
of  democracy  had  arrived,  and  there  were  many  uprisings  which 
upset  the  decrees  of  the  Vienna  autocrats.  In  1814  Norway 
declared  herself  a  free  nation.  In  1830  and  1848  there  were 
revolutions  in  France,  which  lighted  the  signal  fires  of  liberty 
throughout  Europe.  A  new  republic  was  established  in  France 
in  1848,  only  to  be  overturned  again  in  1852.  Belgium  broke  lose 
from  Holland  in  1831  and  established  a  constitutional  kingdom. 
Italy  had  uprisings  in  1820,  1830,  1848  and  1859,  which  resulted 
both  in  political  freedom  and  national  unity  for  the  Italian 
states.  Of  all  the  European  states,  Germany  had  suffered  most 
under  Napoleon's  cruelty  and  was  most  dismembered,  but  was 
reviving  again  and  striving  towards  a  more  perfect  union  of 
the  German  people.  The  rivalry  between  the  German  states  of 
Prussia  and  Austria  led  inevitably  to  war,  in  which  Prussia  came 
out  as  victor.  There  was  a  revolution  in  Greece  in  1828,  in 
Poland  in  1830,  in  Hungary  in  1848,  out  of  which  came  some 
measure  of  greater  liberty,  especially  in  Greece,  which  was 
freed  from  Turkish  rule.  In  1584  serfdom  had  been  legalized 
in  Russia.  Peasants  were  bought  and  sold  with  the  land  they 
worked.  The  land  belonged  to  the  nobility  and  the  peasants  had 
to  stay  there  from  generation  to  generation.  In  1858-1863,  yield- 
ing to  the  urgent  cry  for  redress  and  the  spirit  of  the  times, 
Czar  Alexander  II  emancipated  the  serfs  of  Russia,  by  which 
these  semi-slaves  could,  under  certain  conditions,  acquire  land 
and  move  from  place  to  place.  From  1820  to  1860  the  total 
number  of  emigrants  from  the  continent  was  1,899,833 — from 
Germany  1,555,508;  France,  207,692;  Scandinavia,  45,957; 
and  from  all  other  lands,  90,676.  Of  the  total  immigration  to 
the  United  States  during  the  period  1820-1860,  54.3%  came 
from  Great  Britain,  30.7%  from  Germany,  4.1%  from  France, 
.9a/c  from  Scandinavia,  and  the  remaining  10%  from  the  other 
lands  of  the  earth.  America  was  the  haven  for  freedom  and 
the  land  of  opportunity  for  all  that  were  poor  and  oppressed. 


The  Norwegian  Period  105 

Norway  and  Sweden  became  a  dual  monarchy  in  1814.  Their 
first  king  was  Bernadotte,  a  French  marshal  under  Napoleon. 
The  Swedes  had  chosen  him  as  heir  to  the 
Norway  throne,    hoping   thereby   to   gain    the    friend- 

ship of  Napoleon,  and  that  thus  through 
his  help  they  might  regain  possession  of  Finland,  which  they 
had  lost  to  Russia  in  1809.  They  reckoned,  however,  without 
their  host,  for  Napoleon  and  Bernadotte  did  not  long  remain 
friends  after  Bernadotte's  elevation.  Hardly  had  Bernadotte, 
or  Charles  John,  as  he  called  himself  in  Sweden,  come  into 
power,  when  he  joined  with  Russia,  Prussia  and  England  in  a  new 
(sixth)  confederacy  against  Napoleon.  Denmark  sided  with 
Napoleon  and  against  England,  because  England  had  in  1807 
bombarded  Copenhagen  and  taken  the  Dano-Norwegian  fleet. 
The  Powers  promised  Charles  John  Norway  as  the  price  foi 
his  aiding  them  against  Napoleon.  Napoleon  went  out  to  fight 
the  Allies  and  met  them  at  Leipzig  in  1813,  where  he  met  defeat 
(the  "Battle  of  Nations").  At  the  Peace  of  Kiel  (Jan.  14, 
1814)  the  Powers  gave  Norway  to  Sweden.  As  stated  in  an- 
other place  in  this  book,  Norway  objected  to  being  given  away 
by  anybody  to  anybody.  Norway  declared  herself  free  and,  on 
the  Seventeenth  of  May,  1814,  adopted  a  constitution.  When 
Norway  finally  accepted  Charles  John  as  her  king,  she  did  it  with 
the  understanding  that  she  was  a  free  country  and  in  no  sense 
a  province. 

Charles  John  remained  a  Frenchman  all  his  days.  He  never 
learned  to  speak  Norwegian,  not  even  Swedish,  although  he 
lived  at  Stockholm  32  years.  The  peace  conference  at  Vienna 
had  tried  to  restore  the  power  and  dignity  of  the  monarchs  as 
they  were  before  the  French  Revolution,  and  Charles  John, 
though  himself  not  of  royal  birth,  had  caught  the  spirit  of  the  old 
school  and  was  jealous  of  his  authority.  Yet  he  was,  on  the 
whole  a  good  king.  There  was,  naturally,  some  friction  between 
him  and  the  democratic  Norwegians.  He  and  the  Norwegian 
Storthing,  for  example,  differed  on  a  number  of  questions,  as: 
The  payment  of  the  war  debt,  the  celebration  of  the  Seventeenth 
of  May,  the  equality  of  the  kingdoms,  the  naval  flag,  the  treat- 
ment of  diplomatic  matters,  amendments  to  the  constitution,  etc. 
He  took  upon  himself  in  1828  to  forbid  the  celebration  of  the 
Seventeenth  of  May  as  the  national  holiday.  In  answer  to  this 
tyrannous  act  the  poet  Wergeland  sang  hymns  to  liberty  so 
effectively  that  the  people  in  1829  were  determined  at  all  costs 
to  celebrate.  The  king  sent  his  troops  to  disperse  the  multitudes, 
but  without  avail.  Fortunately,  he  did  this  only  once — in  1829. 
Since  that  date,  the  day  has  been  celebrated  in  peace.  In  1836 
the  king  proposed  constitutional  changes,  but  the  Storthing 
promptly  tabled  the  proposal  and  passed  a  law  as  to  a  Norwe- 


106  Norwegian  People  in  America 

gian  merchant  flag.  The  king  therupon  rashly  dissolved  the 
Storthing;  the  Storthing  brought  the  case  before  the  courts 
and  had  the  action  declared  unconstitutional.  The  king,  awe- 
struck by  their  boldness,  made  concessions,  and,  by  appointing 
a  Norwegian,  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  as  viceroy,  became  justly  popu- 
lar. From  this  it  appears  that  the  Norwegians  of  this  period 
were  fearless  in  asserting  their  rights,  moderate  and  persistent 
in  their  demands.  Eventually  they  obtained  every  right  and 
privilege  they  asked  for. 

In  1844  Oscar  I,  son  of  Charles  John,  came  to  the  throne. 
He  tried  to  conciliate  the  Norwegians.  He  gave  them  their  own 
flag.  Under  his  reign  many  good  laws  were  passed  and  many 
reforms  in  the  means  of  communication  and  in  trade  were 
carried  into  effect.  In  1859  Oscar  I  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Charles  XV. 

During  this  period  Norway  was  very  poor.  England  had 
destroyed  or  seized  her  ships  and  had  blockaded  her  ports.  It 
took  many  years  to  overcome  this  handicap.  The  financial  panics 
which  swept  over  Europe  in  the  '30s  and  '50s  affected  also 
Norway.  Norway's  poverty  was  the  main  cause  for  the  emi- 
gration from  Norway  at  this  time.  The  emigration  going  on 
from  the  rest  of  northwestern  Europe  was  also  felt  as  a  stimu- 
lating factor  in  Norway.  Cleng  Peerson,  who  had  been  in  Ger- 
manv,  France,  England  and  America,  became  the  apostle  of 
immigration  to  America,  and  the  Sloop  "Restaurationen,"  setting 
out  from  Stavanger  on  July  4,  1825,  was  the  first  boatload  of 
Norwegian  immigrants  to  the  United  States  in  modern  times. 

In  1825,  when  the  Sloop  "Restaurationen"  came,  this  nation 
was  scarcely  fifty  years  old.     The  Revolutionary  War  began  in 
1775,    the   Declaration   of    Independence    was 
United  States  made    July    4,    1776,    the    Articles    of    Con- 

federation were  agreed  upon  by  the  Contin- 
ental Congress  in  1777,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
was  written  in  1787.  It  was  a  document  of  compromises.  Some 
men,  for  example,  wanted  a  strong  central  government — these 
came  to  be  known  as  Federalists ;  others  believed  that  the  states 
should  have  as  much  power  as  possible — these  came  to  be  known 
as  Anti-Federalists,  or  Democratic-Republicans.  George  Wash- 
ington became  the  first  president,  the  unanimous  choice  of  both 
factions.  He  served  from  1789  to  1797  and  was  succeeded  bv 
John  Adams,  the  nominee  of  the  Federalist  Party.  Adams'  term 
was  from  1797  to  1801.  The  third  president  was  Thomas 
Jefferson,  candidate  of  the  Democratic-Republicans.  He  served 
eight  years,  from  1801  to  1809.  The  fourth  president  was  James 
Madison,  twice  elected  by  the  Republicans;  and  after  him  came 
James  Monroe,  the  fifth  president,  also  Republican,  whose  term 


The  Norwegian  Period  107 

of  office  extended  from  1817  to  1825.  Up  to  this  time— 1825— 
the  Federal  Constitution  had  been  tried  out  only  thirty-six  years. 
The  administration  of  Washington  was  a  period  of  organization. 
The  administrations  of  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson  were 
periods  ot  experimentation  in  foreign  and  domestic  policy,  end- 
ing in  a  second  war  with  Great  Britain  (1812-1814).  The  pur- 
chase of  Louisiana,  in  18U3,  was  one  of  the  most  notable  events 
in  this  period.  Then  came  the  Era  of  Good  Feeling,  which  last- 
ed ten  years — from  181:)  to  1825.  The  Monroe  Doctrine,  first 
announced  on  December  2,  1823,  has  since  been  one  of  the  fun- 
damental rules  of  America  with  respect  to  European  inter- 
ference in  American  affairs. 

The  Norwegian  Sloopers  arrived  in  America  just  as  the  Era 
of  111  Feeling  began  to  set  in.  The  new  era  lasted  from  1825 
to  1861,  which  are  the  years  marking  the  beginning  and 
end  of  the  first  period  of  the  story  of  the  Norwegians  in  Amer- 
ica. It  might  seem  that  this  era  should  be  one  of  Good  Feeling. 
The  country  had  made  great  progress  from  1775  to  1825  and 
was  about  to  witness  a  growth  which  had  never  before  been 
paralleled.  In  1775  the  population  was  less  than  3,000,000;  in 
1825  more  than  11,000,000.  And  in  1860  it  had  increased  to 
more  than  31,000,000.  In  1775  there  were  13  colonies;  in  1825 
there  were  24  states ,  and  in  1860,  33  states.  The  country  had 
grown  from  about  350,000  sq.  miles  in  1775  to  about  2,000,000 
sq.  miles,  most  of  it  uninhabited  and  untilled,  in  1825.  In  1860 
the  area  was  over  3,000,000  sq.  miles,  most  of  it  occupied  and 
partly  tilled.  Alongside  of  the  political  and  territorial  growth 
there  had  been  much  progress  in  agriculture,  mining,  manufac- 
turing, commerce,  invention  and  internal  improvement.  Europe 
had  begun  to  look  to  America  for  supplies  of  cotton  and  grain. 
American  factories  had  begun  to  supply  domestic  needs  and  even 
to  offer  their  wares  in  foreign  markets.  American  ships  fly- 
ing the  American  flag  could  be  seen  in  every  principal  port.  To 
the  poor  and  oppressed  immigrant  from  Europe,  America 
seemed  a  haven  of  peace,  a  land  of  prosperity  and  freedom. 
Nevertheless,  this  period  is  rightly  called  the  Era  of  111  Feeling, 
politically,  socially,  economically  and  otherwise. 

One  of  the  causes  of  ill  feeling  was  the  question  of  internal 
improvements  by  the  Federal  Government  at  national  expense. 
The  Democratic-Republicans  opposed  such  a  system.  The 
Federalists  advocated  it.  John  Quincy  Adams,  president  in 
1825-1829,  boldly  recommended  appropriation  for  national  ob- 
servatories, a  university,  and  scientific  enterprises  of  various 
kinds,  as  well  as  for  public  roads,  canals  and  defences.  The 
country  was  not  ready  for  such  liberal  views,  and  Adams  became 
very  unpopular.  He  was  succeeded  by  Andrew  Jackson,  who 
sternly   opposed   such   improvements   as   unconstitutional.      With 


108 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Settlements  in  1820 


(An  attempt  to  reproduce  the  U.  S.  Census  Color  Plates  by  the  camera 
— not  very  successful.     The  population  west  of  the  Alleghanies  is  consid- 
erably lighter  than  indicated  in  this  reproduction.) 


The  Norwegian  Period 


109 


Settlements    in    i860 


(An  attempt  to  reproduce  the  U.  S.  Census  Color  Plates  by  the  camera 
— not  very  successful.     The  population  west  of  the  Alleghanies  is  consid- 
erably lighter  than  indicated  in  this  reproduction.) 


110  Norwegian  People  in  America 

the  introduction  of  railroads  it  was  necessary  to  give  them  a 
grant  of  land  along  the  line  of  their  route.  This  grant  was  man- 
aged in  this  way,  that  Congress  gave  the  land  to  the  states  in 
order  to  enable  them  to  give  the  land  to  corporations  within 
their  boundaries.  The  first  grant  for  railroad  purposes  was  made 
in  1850,  when  the  state  of  Illinois  gave  2,500,000  acres  to  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad. 

Another  bone  of  contention  was  the  Protective  Tariff.  The 
trouble  over  this  question  began  also  with  John  Ouincy  Adams. 
New  England  favored  protection  to  aid  her  growing  manufac- 
tures, especially  that  of  woolens.  The  cotton-growing  states 
of  the  South  did  not  have  factories  and  did  not  want  any  tariff. 
\  tariff  law  was  passed  in  1828.  which  was  called  "The  Tariff  of 
Abominations."  Under  Jackson  it  was  modified,  but  was  so  un- 
popular even  at  that,  that  South  Carolina  passed  an  ordinance 
of  nullification  declaring  the  tariff  acts  of  1828  and  1832  void. 
President  Jackson  acted  with  energy,  ordering  General  Winfield 
Scott  to  collect  duties  by  force  of  arms. 

The  United  States  Bank  was  a  third  source  of  trouble.  It 
was  a  part  of  Hamilton's  financial  scheme.  It  had  been  opposed 
by  Jefferson,  Madison  and  other  advocates  of  state  rights. 
Andrew  Jackson  was  an  enemy  of  the  bank,  and  would  not  per- 
mit its  rechartering  in  1836.  From  1833  to  1836  he  withdrew 
the  government  monev  and  placed  it  in  state  banks.  This  was 
at  a  time  when  the  West  was  opening  up  and  there  was  a  great 
boom  everywhere.  It  became  easy  to  borrow  money  and  a  wild 
orgy  of  speculation  ensued.  New  banks,  called  "wild  cat  banks," 
were  formed  on  little  or  no  capital,  since  paper  money  could  be 
issued  with  little  or  no  specie  back  of  it.  The  madness  in  money 
and  speculation  could  not  go  on  forever.  In  1837  occurred  a 
terrible  financial  panic  which  paralyzed  all  industries,  one  of 
the  most  painful  and  prolonged  crises  in  our  financial  history. 

It  seems  to  have  been  the  intention  of  the  founders  of  our 
government  that  civil  officers  should  retain  their  positions  during 
good  behavior.  Andrew  Jackson  introduced  the  "Spoils  System," 
making  a  clean  sweep  of  all  who  differed  with  him  in  politics. 
Since  his  day  public  office  has  been  considered  a  reward  for 
party  service,  except  in  so  far  as  civil  service  reform  has  been 
introduced. 

The  great  political  parties  during  this  period  were  the  Demo- 
cratic-Republicans, now  called  Democrats,  and  the  Federalists, 
now  called  Whig.  The  Democrats  elected  Jackson,  Van  Buren, 
Polk,  Pierce  and  Buchanan,  a  total  of  24  years  in  office.  The 
Whigs  elected  Harrison  and  Tyler,  Taylor  and  Fillmore,  a  total 
of  8  years  in  office.  John  Quincy  Adams  was  elected  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  for  one  term.  He  was  a  Federalist. 
The  campaign  of  Harrison  was  the  first  political  campaign,  since 


The  Norwegian  Period  111 

so  familiar,  having-  mass  meetings,  political  speeches,  songs, 
torch  lights  and  slogans.  'Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too"  won  his 
election. 

There  were,  several  smaller  parties  advocating  this  or  that 
reform  measure.  Thus,  in  1826-1835,  the  Anti-Masonic  Party 
opposed  Free  Masonry.  A  prohibition  movement  was  on  foot, 
which  made  Maine  a  prohibition  state  in  1846,  Vermont  in  1852, 
New  Hampshire  in  1855,  Connecticut  in  1854-1872.  New  York 
in  1855-1857,  and  restricted  the  sale  of  liquor  in  Ohio,  Michigan 
and  other  places.  The  Know-Nothing  Party  in  1856  confined 
itself  to  vigorous  opposition  to  aliens  and  Catholics.  Texas, 
originally  a  part  of  Mexico,  from  which  it  declared  its  independ- 
ence, was  annexed  to  the  United  States  in  1845.  This  brought 
on  the  War  with  Mexico,  won  by  the  United  States.  Mexico 
ceded  to  the  United  States  in  1848  522,568  sq,  miles  of  land, 
including  California,  and  in  1853,  through  the  Gadsden  Pur- 
chase, the  United  States  obtained  an  additional  45,535  sq.  miles 
of  territory.  Gold  was  discovered  in  California  in  1848,  re- 
sulting in  a  wild  rush  of  adventurers  and  settlers  to  California. 
The  northeastern  boundary  difficulties  with  Great  Britain  were 
settled  in  1842.  The  northwestern  boundary  question  was  settled 
in  1846. 

The  chief  source  of  ill  feeling  during  this  period  was  the 
subject  of  slavery.  The  South  wanted  slaves  because  it  was 
profitable  to  the  South.  The  North  had  originally  favored  slaves, 
but  had  found  it  unprofitable,  and  slavery  died  a  natural  death. 
The  moral  side  of  the  question  was  early  recognized  and  boldly 
proclaimed,  but  the  matter  was  hushed  and  compromised  at  the 
framing  of  the  Constitution.  The  South  wished  to  introduce 
slavery  into  new  territory.  The  North  tried  to  prevent  it.  The 
Missouri  Compromise  of  1820  recognized  the  power  of  Congress 
to  exclude  slavery  from  new  territory.  The  Compromise  of  1850 
admitted  California  as  a  free  state,  but  gave  the  other  territories 
the  right  to  decide  for  themselves  as  to  slavery.  The  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill  likewise  left  the  states  to  decide  the  question. 
The  Fugitive  Slave  Law  made  it  the  duty  of  Congress  to  pro- 
tect slavery.  The  Dred-Scott  Decision  declared  slaves  to  be 
property,  not  people.  Mrs.  Stowe's  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  a 
story  of  slave  life  in  the  South,  published  in  1852,  had  an 
immense  sale,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  changing  the  poli- 
tical question  to  a  moral  one. 

Garrison  started  a  newspaper  in  1829  advocating  immediate 
abolition  of  slavery.  He  was  fined  and  his  paper  was  suppressed. 
He  started  another  paper,  "The  Liberator,"  declaring  the  United 
States  Constitution,  because  of  its  compromising  attitude  on  the 
slavery  question,  to  be  a  "covenant  with  death,  and  an  agree- 
ment with  Hell."     He   had   many   followers.     They  were  often 


112 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


persecuted.  Lovejoy,  an  Illinois  abolition  editor,  was  mobbed 
and  killed  in  1838.  The  Liberty  Party,  organized  in  1840,  opposed 
slavery.  It  was  succeeded  by  the  Free  Soil  Party,  in  1848,  and 
this  in  turn  was  succeeded  by  the  Republican  Party,  in  1856. 
Its  first  candidate  was  John  C.  Fremont,  and  the  slogan  of  the 
party  was  "Free  Soil,  Free  Speech,  Free  Men  and  Fremont." 
The  second  candidate,  in  1860,  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  who.  was 
elected.  The  German  and  Scandinavian  vote  put  him  into  office. 
His  election  brought  on  the  secession  of  the  South  and  the 
Civil  War,  in  which  struggle  slavery  perished. 

2.     The  Norwegian  Immigration,  1825-1860 

We  have  learned  that  the  brave  and  adventurous  Norsemen 

found  their  way  to   America  during  the   Colonial  Days  and  as 

far    back    as    the    Viking    Age.      Gunnbjo'rn 

Cleng  Peerson  came  to  Greenland  in  876;   Leif   Erikson,  to 

Vinland,    in     1000.     But    to    Cleng    Peerson 

belongs   the   honor    of   having   started   a    steady    stream    of    im- 


Stavanger  in   182= 


migration  to  America.  He  was  the  Pathfinder  of  Norwegian  Settle- 
ments in  the  Northwest  and  Southwest. 

Peerson  was  born  on  the  farm  Hesthammer,  in  Tysvaer 
Parish,  north  of  Stavanger,  Norway,  May  17,  1782.  He  went 
originally  by  the  name  Kleng  Pedersen  Hesthammer,  but  in 
later  years  he  came  to  be  known  by  the  shorter  name.  He  is 
reported  to  have  married  a  rich  widow  considerably  older  than 
himself  and  to  have  traveled  in  Scandinavia,  Germany,  France 
and  England.  He  is  said  to  have  acquired  some  speaking  knowl- 
edge of  the  languages  of  the  countries  through  which  he 
journeyed.    He  returned  to  Norway,  and  was  sent  to  America  in 


The  Norwegian  Period 


113 


Cleng  Peerson 


(Copyrighted  by  0.  M.  Norlie) 


(Drawn     by     Ivan    Doseff    and    approved    by     five    of    Cleng    F'eerson's    friends    as    a 
reasonably    good    likeness) 

1821,  as  an  advance  agent  for  a  group  of  Quakers  in  Stavanger. 
They  wanted  more  freedom  than  they  were  having  in  Norway. 
and  hoped  to  find  a  place  where  they  could  live  and  worship  as 
they  pleased,  without  suffering  any  persecutions  or  restrictions 
at  the  hands  of  anybody. 

Quakerism  was  a  new  movement  in  Norway.     It  had  been 


114  Norwegian  People  in  America 

brought  to  Norway  by  Norwegian  sailors  who  had  been  held 
prisoners  of  war  in  England  during  the  Napoleonic  Wars.  The 
leader  among  these  was  Lars  Larson  i  Jeilane,  who  in  1807 
attempted  to  ship  a  cargo  of  lumber  to  France,  but  was  cap- 
tured by  an  English  man-of-war  and  held  prisoner  until  1814. 
Upon  his  release  he  worked  one  year  for  Mrs.  Margaret  Allen, 
a  Quakeress,  who  had  visited  him  in  prison.  He  accepted  the 
Quaker  faith,  returned  to  Norway  and  organized  at  his  house 
in  Stavanger  the  first  Society  of  Friends  in  Norway.  In  1818, 
two  Quaker  missionaries  from  England  visited  Stavanger.    They 


i  I  bB&mw^^ 

Cleng  Peerson's   Dream   Fulfilled :    A  Typical   Norwegian   Farm 
Home  in  1925 

were  William  Allen,  a  son  of  Larson's  benefactress,  and  Stephen 
Grellet,  a  Frenchman  who  had  lived  twelve  years  in  the  United 
States.  Grellet  no  doubt  had  told  the  Norwegian  Quakers  about 
the  greater  religious  freedom  in  America,  to  which  country  he 
himself  soon  afterward  returned. 

While  the  history  of  Norway  is  relatively  free  from  religious 
persecutions,  the  State  Church  naturally  has  not  welcomed  dis- 
senters and  separatists,  and  has  at  times  called  upon  the  civil 
government  to  restrict  their  interference  in  church  matters.  In 
the  case  of  Hans  Nielsen  Hauge,  the  great  Lutheran  revivalist, 
the  Church  and  State  joined  hands  to  suppress  the  revival  move- 
ment. Hauge  was  imprisoned  from  1804  to  1814  and  his  fol- 
lowers were  subjected  to  various  kinds  of  annoyance  by  the 
regular  clergy  and  the  state  officials.     Hauge  remained  a   Lu- 


The  Norwegian  Period  115 

theran  until  his  death,  in  1824,  but  the  Quakers  were  thorough- 
going separatists  and  wanted  nothing  to  do  with  Lutheran  doc- 
trines and  practices.  They  would  not  baptize  and  confirm  their 
children,  which  were  church  requirements,  and  they  objected  to 
military  service,  which  was  a  state  requirement.  When  the 
church  and  civil  authorities  began  to  insist  on  the  observation 
of  these  demands,  the  Quakers  were  much  annoyed  and  longed 
for  a  land  where  they  could  worship  according  to  the  dictates 
of  their  own  conscience.  Besides,  the  Quakers  of  Stavanger 
were  humble  and  poor  and  would  appreciate  the  economic  ad- 
vantages offered  by  America.  So  it  was  decided  to  send  Cleng 
Peerson  over  here,  together  with  one  companion,  Knud  Olson 
Eide,  and  funds  were  raised  among  the  Friends  and  given  the 
travelers  to  defray  their  expenses. 

Cleng  Peerson  came  to  the  United  States  in  August,  1821, 
and  remained  three  years.  His  companion  took  sick  and  died. 
"Peerson,"  says  a  writer  in  the  "New  York  American"  for  Oct. 
22,  1825,  "procured  the  best  medical  attendants,  still  laboring 
with  his  own  hands  for  his  support,  and  debarring  himself  of  the 
comforts  of  life  to  administer  to  the  necessities  of  his  friend. 
After  the  decease  of  his  friend,  the  survivor  .  .  .  proceeded  on 
foot  to  examine  the  country,  the  character  of  the  soil,  our  mode 
of  agriculture,  engaged  without  any  hesitation  at  any  kind  of  em- 
ployment to  meet  the  current  expenses  of  the  day,  by  which 
means  he  obtained  a  knowledge  of  our  customs,  laws,  language 
and  agriculture.  In  this  manner  he  scoured  the  vast  regions  of 
the  West  and  left  a  journal  from  day  to  day."  He  returned  to 
Norway  in  1824,  reported  to  his  Stavanger  friends  as  to  con- 
ditions in  America  and  urged  them  to  emigrate.  As  a  direct 
result  of  his  report  and  stay  in  Stavanger  the  Sloop  "Restaura- 
tionen"  set  sail  the  next  summer  for  America. 

Peerson  hastened  back  to  America  to  prepare  for  the  arrival 
of  the  immigrants,  this  time  too  with  a  comoanion — Andrias 
Stangeland.  In  a  letter  written  at  New  York  Dec.  20,  1824,  a 
copy  of  which  is  in  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society  Library, 
Peerson  says:  "Dear  father,  brother,  sister,  brother-in-law  and 
friends :  This  will  inform  you  that  I  have  arrived  in  America, 
happy  and  well.  After  a  voyage  of  six  weeks,  we  reached  New 
York  where  we  found  all  my  friends  in  good  health." 

In  this  letter  he  tells  furthermore  that  he  had  gone  to  Albany 
by  steamboat,  and  then,  by  way  of  the  Erie  Canal,  as  far  as 
Farmington,  in  western  New  York.  "I  then  went  overland  to 
Geneva,  where  the  land  commissioner  lives,  in  order  to  purchase 

land,  both  for  myself  and  you The  land  commissioner  is 

very  friendly  and  has  promised  to  aid  us  as  much  as  he  can.  We 
reached  an  agreement  in  regard  to  six  pieces  of  land  which  I 


116  Norwegian  People  in  America 


f  nS/sj/rfr  /  ^^: 


»  »  4  * 


■i- 


/t 


y>'  WMtfLVh  v 


The   Beginning  of   Cleng  Peerson's  Letter 

have  selected,  and  this  agreement  will  he  in  force  until  next 
fall.  I  already  have  a  house  in  process  of  construction,  24  ft. 
long  by  20  ft.  wide,  which  I  hope  to  complete  by  New  Year's 

Day When  I  was  in  Rochester  I  bought  a  stove  for  $20.00. 

It  is  fully  equipped,  with  such  things  as  pans,  pots  for  meat,  a 

baking  oven,  etc " 

He  says  further :     "I  am  very  much  concerned  in  my  mind 

about  your  coming  to  America How  happy  I  should  be  to 

receive  word  that  you  were  coming  to  New  York  and  I  might 

meet  you  there I  must  entrust  everything  to  Providence. 

You  also  would  do  the  same.  You  must  not  allow  yourselves  to 
be  frightened  away  by  talk.  I  have  experienced  the  help  of 
Providence  as  long  as  I  remain  steadfast  in  my  faith.  More 
than  that  we  can  not  do.  I  have  told  you  everything  orally  and 
I  will  stand  by  my  promises.     Do  not  fail  to  write  me  in  good 


a'f%*fW   JycU^uu 


The  Closing  of  Cleng  Peerson's  Letter 

(Photostat  used  by  permission  of  Prof.  Theodore  C.  Blegen,  Minnesota  State 
Historical   Society.) 


The  Norwegian  Period  117 

season  and  I  shall  do  my  best My  friends  in  New  York 

have  promised  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  sell  the  vessel  as  ad- 
vantageously as  possible.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  could  in- 
vest your  money  in  Swedish  iron  and  hire  a  vessel,  that  would 

accomplish  the  same  end I  hope  that  you  will  write  me 

a  letter  as  soon  as  you  are  ready,  to  acquaint  me  with  your 
plans.     Above  all,   deal  with  one  another  in  a  brotherly  spirit. 

Do  not  fail  to  love  one  another Let  us  see  ourselves  as  we 

really  are,  wretched  and  feeble,  then  we  shall  understand  that 
we  always  have  need  of  help  and  salvation  from  the  hand  of 
the  Almighty.  Then  we  will  obey  His  call  and  heed  His  admon- 
itions. Up  to  the  present  I  have  been  in  good  health,  as  has  my 
comrade,  Andrias  Stangelan 

Your  friend  and  servant  unto  death, 

Kleng  Pedersen." 


"This  letter,"  says  Theodore  C.  Blegen,  the  biographer  of 
Cleng  Peerson,  "proves  clearly  that  Cleng  Peerson  was  the  ad- 
vance agent  of  the  immigrants  of  1825,  that  he  was  directly 
urging  the  enterprise  and  encouraging  its  backers,  that  he 
arranged  in  1824  for  the  purchase  of  land  for  his  friends,  that 
he  was  attempting  to  arrange  for  the  sale  of  their  ship  should 

they  purchase  one  for  their  journey That  he  was  indeed 

the  trail-blazer  and  advance  agent  for  the  Sloop  Folk,  and  that 
his  name  stands  properly  at  the  head  of  the  Norwegian  immi- 
gration leaders  of  the  last  century,  can  no  longer  be  disputed." 

Cleng  Peerson  was  not  only  the  Father  of  Norwegian  Immi- 
gration to  America,  but  he  was  also  the  Pathfinder  of  the  Nor- 
wegian settlements  in  the  West.  He  was  not  satisfied  with  the 
conditions  in  the  Kendall  Colony.  The  great  Mississippi  Valley 
was  now  opening  up.  People  were  moving  westward,  some  by 
way  of  the  Erie  Canal  and  the  Great  Lakes,  others  by  the 
prairie  schooner,  trekking  slowly  toward  the  setting  sun.  Aided 
largely  by  this  stream  of  settlers,  Ohio  increased  its  population 
in  the  decade  of  1820-1830  by  256,469,  Indiana  by  195,853,  Illi- 
nois by  102,234,  and  Michigan  by  22,743.  Peerson  caught  the 
spirit  and  started  for  the  West  to  find  a  new  site  for  his  col- 
onists. He  walked  as  far  as  Chicago,  which  was  then,  in  1833, 
a  little  village  of  only  20  huts.  A  French  half-breed  offered  him 
an  80  acre  farm  in  what  is  now  the  Loop  district  for  a  pipe  and 
a  change  of  clothing,  but  Cleng  would  not  take  the  bargain.  The 
marshes  of  Chicago  did  not  appeal  to  him.  He  proceeded  on 
to  Milwaukee,  then  a  hamlet  of  only  three  rude  huts,  surrounded 
by  deep  and  dark  forests. 

Returning  to  Chicago,  he  set  out  across  the  open  plains  of 


118  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Illinois,  almost  due  west.  After  some  days'  wandering,  weary 
one  day  he  lay  down  on  top  of  a  hill  under  a  tree  to  rest.  "He 
slept  and  dreamed,"  says  Anderson,  "and  in  his  dream  he  saw 
the  wild  prairie  changed  into  a  cultivated  region,  teeming  with  all 
kinds  of  grain  and  fruit  most  beautiful  to  behold;  that  splendid 
houses  and  barns  stood  all  over  the  land,  occupied  by  a  rich, 
prosperous  and  happy  people.  Alongside  the  fields  of  waving 
grain  large  herds  of  cattle  were  feeding.  Cleng  interpreted 
this  as  a  vision  and  as  a  token  from  Almighty  God  that  his 
countrymen  should  come  there  and  settle.  He  forgot  his  pain 
and  hunger  and  thanked  God  that  He  had  permitted  his  eyes  to 
behold  this  beautiful  region  and  he  decided  to  advise  his  country- 
men to  come  west  and  settle  there.  He  thought  of  Moses,  who, 
from  the  mountain,  had  looked  into  the  land  of  promise.  Re- 
freshed and  nerved  anew  by  his  dream,  he  went  back  to  Kendall 
and  persuaded  his  friends  to  emigrate  to  La  Salle  Co.,  111." 
Cleng's  dream  has  been  fulfilled.  And  on  the  spot  where  he 
dreamed  this  dream,  at  Norway,  111.,  there  should  be  placed  a 
proud  monument  in  memory  of  his  great  services  to  the  Norwe- 
gian people  in  America.  Every  one  with  Norwegian  blood  in 
his  veins  should  contribute  his  mite  to  this  memorial. 

Just  a  word  or  two  about  his  later  life,  full  both  of 
realistic  and  romantic  incident.  In  1834  he  brought  the  main 
body  of  the  Sloopers  to  La  Salle  Co.,  111.  In  1837  he  founded 
the  Shelby  County  settlement  in  Missouri.  In  1838  he  made  a 
second  visit  to  Norway.  In  1839  he  returned  to  America.  In 
1840  he  made  a  settlement  in  Lee  County,  Iowa.  In  1842  he 
made  a  third  trip  to  Norway.  In  1847,  having  sold  his  farm 
lands  in  Missouri  and  Iowa,  he  joined  the  Erik  Janson  colony  at 
Bishop  Hill,  Henry  Co.,  111.  This  was  a  Swedish  communistic 
settlement,  established  in  1846.  He  contributed  all  his  posses- 
sions to  the  colony,  and,  though  65  years  old,  he  married  a  young- 
Swedish  woman,  a  member  of  the  Jansonite  sect.  Shortly  after 
his  marriage  he  departed  from  the  colony  and  left  his  wife,  never 
to  return  to  her,  "stripped,"  as  he  said,  "of  everything  except 
his  honor."  The  next  two  years  he  spent  in  the  Fox  River 
Settlement,  La  Salle  Co.,  which  he  had  been  instrumental  in 
founding,  and  which  now  had  become  populous  and  prosperous. 
A  man  past  65,  he  could  now  have  lived  here  at  Fox  River, 
among  friends,  to  the  end  of  his  days.  But  he  was  still  the 
restless  seeker  after  new  fields.  In  1849  he  went  to  Texas  to 
investigate  as  to  a  new  site  for  a  Norwegian  settlement.  In  1850 
he  went  back  to  Illinois,  only  to  return  to  Texas,  with  a  com- 
pany of  immigrants.    He  lived  near  Dallas,  Texas,  from  1850  to 


The  Norwegian  Period 


119 


1854,  and  in  Bosque  County, 
Texas,  from  1854  to  the  day 
of  his  death,  Dec.  16,  1865. 
According  to  T.  T.  Colwick, 
postmaster  at  Norse,  Texas, 
the  Texas  Legislature  present- 
ed Peerson  with  a  gift  of  320 
acres  of  land  in  Neils,  Bosque 
County,  Texas,  as  an  apprecia- 
tion of  his  services  as  a  pio- 
neer leader.  He  was  a  car- 
penter by  trade  and  a  sample 
of  his  skill  is  seen  in  the  pic- 
ture of  his  chair  which  was 
furnished  for  this  book  by 
Cleng's  friend,  Jacob  Olson, 
Clifton,  Texas.  Though  twice 
married,  he  had  no  children. 
In  his  first  marriage  he  took  to 
wife  an  elderly  woman,  Cath- 
erine  who    gave    him 

wealth.     In  his   second  marriage  he  married  a  girl  at   least  40 
years  his  junior,  and  her  sect  got  his  last  cent.     Her  name  was 

Charlotte  Marie  .    She  died  of  the  cholera  in  1849.     He 

never  had  any  children. 

A  monument  on  his  grave,  erected  in  1876  at  a  cost  of  $300.00, 
bears  an  inscription  in  Norwegian  on  one  side  and  in  English  on 
the  opposite  side,  which  reads : 

Cleng  Peerson 

the  first  Norwegian  immigrant 

to 

America, 

born  in  Norway,  Europe, 

May  17,  1782, 

came  to  America  in  1821, 

and  died  in  Texas,  Dec.  16,   1865. 

Grateful  countrymen  in  Texas   erected  this 

monument  to  his  memory. 


Cleng  Peerson's  Chair 

(Made    by    Cleng    himself,    now    owned    by    Jacob 
Olson,    Clifton,    Texas) 


In  1921  a  centennial  was  held  at  Norse,  Tex.,  at  his  grave, 
O.  M.  Norlie  delivering  the  anniversary  address.  A  similar  cele- 
bration was  held  also  at  two  of  the  chief  Norwegian  cultural 
centers  in  America,  at  Decorah,  la.,  with  Gisle  Bothne  as  the 
chief  speaker,  and  at  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  with  Theodore  C. 
Blegen  as  the  centennial  orator. 


120  Norwegian  People  in  America 

There  has  been  considerable  controversy  as  to  Cleng  Peer- 
son's  character  and  historical  importance.  He  has  been  called 
a  shiftless  tramp,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  had  some  of 
the  characteristics  of  a  vagabond.  He  was  a  rover,  but  not  an 
aimless  one.  Blegen  is  right  in  his  characterization  of  his  person 
and  work :  "In  truth,  he  appears  to  have  been  actuated  constant- 
ly by  the  high  aim  of  searching  out  favorable  places  for  settle- 
ment by  Norwegian  immigrants,  and  he  served  again  and  again 
as  leader  and  guide  and  instigator  of  movements  of  immigration 
to  America  and  to  the  settlements  in  the  West  in  the  future  of 
which  he  had  faith.  He  usually  owned  land,  even  though  he  did 
not  actually  cultivate  it  ...  .  Never  content  to  remain  in  one 
place  and  win  the  ordinary  rewards  of  patient  work,  he  traveled 
back  and  forth  across  the  Atlantic,  and  trudged  from  frontier 
to  frontier,  always  searching  for  desirable  lands,  and  leading  to 
these  lands  groups  of  settlers  who  possessed  the  qualities  which 
he  lacked,  who  founded  settlements,  who  built  homes,  and,  con- 
quering the  wilderness  to  which  they  came,  achieved  that  pros- 
perity which  was  the  lode-star  that  had  drawn  them  to  the  West. 
Professor  Svein  Nilssen,  who  published  in  1869  and  1870  the 
results  of  numerous  interviews  and  extensive  researches  in  the 
old  settlements,  declares  without  qualification  that  Cleng  Peer- 
son  exercised  a  greater  influence  upon  the  early  Norwegian  im- 
migration and  settlement  than  any  other  man."  Says  Nilssen: 
"Despite  his  faults  and  shortcomings,  Cleng  Peerson  was  certainly 
the  right  man  to  head  the  movement.  Unsteady  though  he  was, 
none  could  deny  him  honor  and  uprightness.  He  was  good- 
hearted  and  always  prepared  to  help  others He  was  always 

a  faithful  friend  of  the  needy  and  suffering.  His  goal  was  to 
work  for  the  temporal  happiness  of  his  fellow-beings." 

His  Texas  friends,  who  knew  him  well,  all  accord  him  high 
tribute.  T.  T.  Colwick  writes:  "His  inherent  honesty,  nobility 
and  benevolence  were  expressed  in  the  mild  and  pleasant  fea- 
tures of  his  face Suffering  was  repugnant  to  him  in  any 

form.  He  believed  in  the  power  of  love  instead  of  force.  He 
was  the  most  unselfish  man  I  have  known.  His  chief  ambition 
was  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  countrymen  and  fellow-men." 
The  history  of  the  Norwegians  in  America  can  not  be  written 
without  giving  him  an  honored  place  as  the  first  leader. 

*On  July  4,  1825,  occurred  one  of  the  most  important  events 

in  the  history  of  Norway,  an  event  which  at  the  time  was  scarce- 
ly noted  by  public  officials  and  the  press  and 

The  Sloopers  which  the  Norwegian  historians  have  hardly 

yet   considered    worthy    of    mention    in    their 

voluminous   writings.    This   event   was   the   sailing   of    the   first 

emigrant  boat  to  America. 


The  Norwegian  Period 


121 


When  Cleng  Peerson  returned  to  Stavanger  in  1824  he  had 
much  to  tell  and  there  were  many  willing  ears  to  listen  to  him. 
Lars  Larson,  the  Quaker  leader,  determined  to  emigrate  and 
began  to  organize  a  company  of  emigrants.  Together  with  five 
other  men  he  purchased  a  small  ship  to  take  them  across  the  At- 
lantic to  that  wonderful  land  from  whence  Peerson  had  just 
come.  This  ship  was  only  a  large  boat,  a  54-foot  long  sloop 
of   only  38  or  40   tons,   and  costing    1,800   Norwegian   "specie" 


The  Sloop   "Restaurationen" 

dollars,  approximately  $1,350.00  in  American  coin.  Some  of  the 
present-day  boats  are  over  1,000  times  as  large  and  costly.  The 
Sloop  had  been  built  in  Hardanger  in  1801  and  went  by  the 
name  "Restaurationen"  (The  Restoration).  Larson  hired  a 
captain,  Lars  Olson  Helland,  and  a  mate,  Nels  Erikson.  Larson 
himself  was  a  ship  carpenter  and  most  of  his  party  had 
had  experience  on  the  sea  as  fishermen.  They  freighted  their 
little  bark  with  iron,  which  they  intended  to  market  in  New  York, 
and  all  told  they  numbered  52  passengers  when  they  departed 
from  Stavanger  on  July  4th,  and  53  when  they  arrived  at  New 
York  on  Oct.  9,  97  days  later,  a  girl  baby  having  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Larson  on  Sept.  2nd.    This  child  was  named  Mar- 


122  Nonvegian  People  in  America 

garet  Allen  Larson,  in  honor  of  Mrs.  Allen,  the  Quakeress,     of 
London,  already  mentioned. 

The  party  consisted  of  9  married  couples,  with  21  children, 
of  whom  4  are  known  to  have  heen  boys,  and  13  girls,  while  four 
are  simply  listed  as  children.  There  were  also  13  single  men 
and  1  single  woman.  The  names  of  these  Sloop  Folk,  together 
with  the  years  of  their  birth  and  death,  are  given  herewith,  based 
largely  on  R.  B.  Anderson's  "First  Chapter  of  Norwegian  Im- 
migration :" 

Family  Heads: 

(i)  Larson,  Lars    (i 787-1845). 

(2)  Larson,  Martha  Georgiana,  nee  Peerson   (1803-1887). 

(3)  Hersdal,  Cornelius  Nelson   (1789-1833). 

(4)  Hersdal,  Caroline,  nee  Peerson   (         -1848). 

(5)  Hersdal,  Nels  Nelson   (1800-1886). 

(6)  Hersdal,  Bertha,  nee  Hervig  (1804-1882). 

(7)  Hervig,  Henrick  Christopherson   (         -1884). 

(8)  Hervig  (Harwick),  Martha,  nee  — (         -1868). 

(9)  Lima,  Simon. 

(10)  Lima, 

(11)  Madland,  Thomas    (1 778-1826). 

(12)  Madland, (1768-1829). 

(13)  Rossadal,  Daniel  Stenson   (1779-1854). 

(14)  Rossadal,  Bertha,  nee  Stav0son   (         -1854). 

(15)  Stene,  Johannes  (1779-         ) 

(16)  Stene,  Martha   (nee  Kindingstad)    (1780-         ). 

(17)  Thompson    (Thorson),  Oyen    (1795-1826). 

(18)  Thompson,  Bertha  Caroline,  nee (1790-1844). 

Children : 

(19)  Larson,  Margaret  Allen   (1825-1916).    Mrs.  John  Atwater. 

(20)  Nelson   (Hersdal),  Ann  (1814-1858).    Not  married. 

(21)  Nelson   (Hersdal)    Nels   (1816-1893).    Married  Catherine  Iverson. 

(22)  Nelson   (Hersdal),  Inger    (1819-1896).     Married    John    S.    Mitchell. 

(23)  Nelson  (Hersdal),  Martha  (1823-         ).    Married  Beach  Fellows. 

(24)  Lima, 

(25)  Lima, 

(26)  Lima, 

(27)  Madland,  Rachel    (1807-         ).    Mrs.  Lars  Olson  Helland. 

(28)  Madland,  Julia   (1810-1846).    Mrs.  Gudmund   Haugaas. 

(29)  Madland,  Serena   (1814-         ).    Mrs.  Jacob  Anderson  Slogvig. 

(30)  Rosdail   (Rossadal),  Ellen  (1807-1884).  Mrs.  Cornelius  Cothren. 

(31)  Rosdail   (Rossadal),  Aave    (Ovee)    (1809-1890).    Married   Gertrude 
Jacobs   (1);  Mrs.  Martha  Haagenson   (2). 

(32)  Rosdail    (Rossadal),   Lars    (1812-1837).    Not  married. 

(33)  Rosdail  (Rossadal),  John  (1821-1893).   Married Quam  (1)  ; 

Caroline  Peerson  (2). 

(34)  Rosdail     (Rossadal),    Helga    Hulda     (1825-1914).     Mrs.     Erasmus 
Olson. 

(35)  Stene,  Helene  Cora   (1812-         ). 

(36)  Stene, 

(37)  Thompson,  Sara    (1818-         ).     Mrs.    George    Olmstead    (1)  ;    Mrs. 
Wm.  W.  Richey   (2). 

(38)  Thompson,  Anna  Marie   (1819-1842).    Mrs.  Wm.  W.  Richey. 

(39)  Thompson,   Caroline    (1825-1826). 


The  Norwegian  Period  123 

Single  Men : 

(40)  Bjaadland,  Thorstein  Olson   (1795-1874).    Married  Guro  Olson. 

(41)  Dahl  (Dall),  Endre   (Andrew).    Married  Mrs.  Sven  Aasen. 

(42)  Erikson,  Nels. 

(43)  Haugaas    (Hogas),  Gudmund   (1800- 1849).    Married  Julia  Madland 
(1)  ;  Caroline  Hervig    (2). 

(44)  Helland,  Lars  Olson.    Married   Rachel  Madland. 

(45)  Hettletvedt,  Ole  Olson   (         -1849).    Married Chamberlain 

(1); (2). 

(46)  lverson,  Halvor. 

(47)  Johnson,  George   (         -1849).    Married Nordboe. 

(48)  Johnson,    Ole     (1798-1879).      Married    Mrs.    Malinda    Frink     (1)  ; 
Ingeborg  (2);   ingeborg   lverson    (3). 

(49)  Slogvig,   Jacob    Anderson    (1807-1864).      Married    Serena   Madland. 

(50)  Slogvig,  Knud.    Married Olson  Hettletvedt. 

(51)  Stangeland,  Andrew.    Married  Susan  Cary. 

(52)  Thompson,     Nels     (        -1863).      Married     Mrs.     Bertha     Caroline 
Thompson. 

Single  Woman  :. 

(53)  Larson,  Sara.    Deaf  and  dumb  sister  of  Lars  Larson.    Not  married. 

Thorkild  Johannesen,  bookkeeper,  Portland,  Oregon,  writes 
that  his  grandfather,  Johannis  Stene  (John  Sten),  had  two 
children,  Svend  and  Helena  Cora,  and  that  only  the  daughter 
went  along  to  America.  Svend  remained  to  get  confirmed  and 
had  instructions  then  to  take  a  boat  and  come  to  America.  As 
he  did  not  hear  from  his  folks  any  more,  he  stayed  in  Norway 
and  died  in  1867  as  a  sea  captain.  B.  F.  Stangland  says  that  his 
father,  Andrew  Stangeland,  came  over  before  the  Sloop,  and  did 
not,  as  far  as  he  knows,  return  to  Norway  and  come  back  on  the 
Sloop.  If  these  two  statements  are  correct  then  the  question  is, 
Were  there  53  or  only  51  that  came  on  the  Sloop?  If  53,  who 
were  the  other  two  taking  the  place  of  Svend  Stene  and  Andrew 
Stangeland?  In  a  letter  dated  May  8,  1925,  C.  B.  Olmstead, 
Springdale,  Arkansas,  grandson  of  Oyen  Thompson,  follows 
the  order  of  all  the  Sloopers  except  B.  F.  Stangland  in  insisting 
that  Andrew  Stangeland  came  over  on  the  Sloop.  Though 
81  years  of  age  Olmstead  is  going  to  be  at  the  Norse- American 
Centennial.   He  is  a  member  of  the  German  Missouri  Synod. 

It  has  often  been  claimed  that  the  whole  party  was  made  up 
of  Quakers,  but  such  can  not  have  been  the  case,  since  there 
were  not  more  than  10  or  12  Quakers  in  the  whole  country  of 
Norway  in  1825.  This  sect  has  never  made  much  headway  in 
Norway.  "In  1846,"  says  Tverteraas,  in  his  "Stavanger,  1814- 
1914,"  "these  Quakers  numbered  58  members  and  107  adherents." 
In  1920  the  official  census  reported  only  88  Quakers  in  the 
whole  land.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  this  expedition  was  started 
by  Quakers  and  under  the  leadership  of  Quakers. 

The  Sloopers  landed  at  Funchal,  Madeira,  and  were  kindly 
treated  by  the  natives  and  the  American  consul,  John  H.  March. 
In  the  "New  York  Daily  Advertiser,"  Oct.  15,  1825,  the  captain 
and  passengers  of  the  Sloop  publicly  acknowledge  their  thanks 
to  the  American  consul  for  his  hospitality  to  the  company  when 


124 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


they  touched  the  island.  After  a  three  days'  stop  at  Madeira,  in 
which  they  replenished  their  provisions,  they  set  sail  again,  on 
July  31st  for  the  New  World,  and  arrived  ten  weeks  later  in 
New  York  Harbor,  every  one  hale  and  hearty. 

Concerning  their  reception  at  New  York,  Rynning  says :  "It 
created  universal  surprise  in  New  York  that  the  Norwegians  had 
ventured  to  sea  in  so  small  a  vessel,  a  feat  hitherto  unheard  of. 
Either  through  ignorance  or  misunderstanding  the  ship  had  car- 
ried more  passengers  than  the  American  laws  permitted,  therefore 
the  skipper  and  the  ship  with  its  cargo  were  seized  by  the 
authorities.  Now  I  can  not  say  with  certainty  whether  the  gov- 
ernment voluntarily  dropped  the  matter  in  consideration  of  the 
ignorance  of  the  law  and  child-like  conduct  of  our  good  country- 


Route  of  bloopers 
Kendall  Colony 
October  1525 


men,  or  whether  the  Quakers  had  already  at  this  time  interposed 
for  them ;  all  I  am  sure  of  is  that  the  skipper  was  released,  and 
the  ship  and  its  cargo  were  returned  to  their  owners."  They  re- 
ceived some  contributions  from  the  Quakers  and  were  led  by 
Cleng  Peerson  by  way  of  Albany  to  Rochester  and  Kendall,  N.  Y. 
The  party  passed  through  Albany  on  October  22nd,  and 
attracted  the  attention  of  a  reporter  on  the  ' 'Albany  Patriot," 
who  remarked  in  his  isssue  for  Oct.  24th  that  the  newcomers 
"appear  to  be  pleased  with  what  they  see  in  this  country,  if  we 
may  judge  from  their  good-humored  countenances.  Success  at- 
tend their  efforts  in  this  asylum  of  the  oppressed."  Lars  Larson 
remained  behind  in  order  to  sell  the  boat.  He  finally  disposed  of 
it  at  a  considerable  loss,  receiving  only  $400.00  for  it,  after  which 
he  made  his  way  to  his  party,  from  Albany  to  Rochester,  on 
skates. 

Two  of  the  party  remained  in  New  York — the  captain,  Lars 
Olson  Helland,  and  the  mate,  Nels  Erikson.  Lars  Larson  was 
a  ship  carpenter  by  trade  and  settled  down  at  Rochester  as  a 


The  Norwegian  Period 


125 


builder  of  canal  boats.  The  rest  of  the  Sloopers  moved  on  to 
Kendall,  Orleans  Co.,  N.  Y.,  about  thirty-five  miles  northwest  of 
Rochester.  There,  by  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario  each  man  pur- 
chased 40  acres  of  land  at  $5.00  per  acre  and  started  with  might 
and  main  to  clear  the  forest  primeval :  It  was  no  sweet  task 
and  for  many  years  these  poor  pioneers  suffered  great  need.  They 
had  no  money  and  work  was  scarce.  It  is  said  that  24  of  them 
lived  in  a  single  log  house,  having  only  one  room.  At  the  end  of 
the  second  summer  they  were  able  to  harvest  two  acres  of  wheat. 
This  gave  them  renewed  courage,  and  they  attacked  the  forest 


Clara  Larson  (Millits),  Martha  Larson   (Patterson) 

Elias  Larson,  Martha  Peerson-Larson,  Margaret  Larson  (Atwater) 

Photo   of   Some  of   Lars   Larson's   Family,   ca.    1858 

(From  a  Daguerrotype  owned  by  Jane  S.  Atwater) 

with  new  vigor.  And  yet,  during  the  first  years,  they  often 
wished  themselves  back  to  Norway.  But  they  had  no  money 
to  get  there  and  were  too  proud  to  return  as  beggars.  And  so 
they  toiled  on,  with  a  helping  hand  now  and  then  from  well-to-do 
neighbors.  With  such  help  and  by  their  own  industry  and  thrift, 
they  at  last  got  their  land  in  such  condition  that  they  could  make  a 
living  from  it,  and  could  live  better  than  in  their  native  land. 

As  a  result  of  their  growing  prosperity  and  adjustment  to 
American  conditions,  their  letters  home  to  Norway  began  to  be 
happier  and  more  encouraging,  and  in  consequence  many  o£  their 


126 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


friends  over  there  began  to  feel  the  call  of  the  far-away  and  to 
venture  out  upon  the  deep,  determined  to  make  their  fortunes 
in  America.  Soon  other  boats,  much  larger  than  the  Sloop,  set 
out  from  Norway,  filled  with  hopeful  passengers,  who  in  due 
time  landed  at  New  York  and  hastened  on  to  Rochester,  and  then 
on  again  to  the  Far  West,  which  Cleng  Peerson  in  1833  had  dis- 
covered and  made  known  to  his  Norwegian  countrymen. 

The  story  of  the  Sloopers  has  not  yet  been  told.  By  the  term 
"Sloopers"  is  here  meant  those  who  came  over  on  the  Sloop 
in  1825  and  all  their  descendants.     In  1895,  R.  B.  Anderson  pub- 


v* 

Vl:; 

• 

P^Cs^ 

^  fctiirfiiim 

Jfr* 

M** 

^l      ^s 

s  - 

W*™\ 

/  vH 

George  Larson,  Georgiana  Larson 

Tnger  Larson    (McFaden),  Ole  Johnson,  Lydia  Larson    (Whittelsey) 

Photo  of  Some  of  Lars  Larson's  Family  and  Uncle  Ole  Johnson, 

ca.  1858 
(From  a  Daguerrotype  owned  by  Jane  S.  Atwater) 

lished  his  "First  Chapter  of  Norwegian  Immigration,"  in  which 
he  devotes  about  75  pages  to  these  very  interesting  people.  He 
describes  with  considerable  detail  the  original  53  and  153  of  their 
descendants,  in  all  206.  But  his  list  was  not  complete.  Besides, 
in  the  thirty  years  since  Prof.  Anderson  made  his  investigation  the 
Slooper  tribe  has  multiplied  fast,  so  that  for  the  100-year  period 
it  numbers  at  least  1000  names.  An  intensive  study  of  the  whole 
group  for  the  whole  period  would  no  doubt  make  a  fairly  good 
picture  of  the  character  of  the  Norwegian  people  in  America. 
The  present  writer  has  been  on  the  trail  of  the  Sloopers  for 


The  Norwegian  Period 


127 


five  years  and  has  already  discovered  500  of  the  tribe,  many  of 
whom  he  has  talked  with  personally.  They  are  all  at  work  and 
are  found  in  every  representative  occupation.  About  two-thirds  of 
them  are  on  the  farm.  They  are  literate,  most  of  them  trained  ex- 
clusively in  the  public  schools.  A  number  of  them  have  college  and 
professional  degrees.  Some  of  them  can  still  understand  Norwe- 
gian and  a  few  can  speak  it.  Five  of  them  have  attended 
Lutheran  colleges ;  fully  as  many  have  attended  Reformed  in- 
stitutions of  learning.  Most  of  the  Sloopers  are  now  of  mixed 
blood  due  to  frequent  intermarriages.  Nearly  one-half  of  them 
live  in  Illinois,  but  they 
are  found  in  goodly 
numbers  also  in  Iowa, 
Utah,  New  York,  Min- 
nesota, Kansas,  Cali- 
fornia and  Michigan, 
with  here  and  there  a 
Slooper  in  Colorado, 
Idaho,  Louisiana,  Mis- 
sissippi, Missouri,  New 
Mexico,  Ontario,  South 
Dakota,  Texas,  Oregon, 
Washington  and  Wis- 
consin. Nearly  one-half 
of  them  are  known  to 
belong  to  some  Chris- 
tian church — 15%  Lu- 
theran, 1%  Catholic, 
12%  Methodist,  6% 
Congregationalist,  5% 
Baptist,  2%  Adventist, 
1%  Episcopalian,  1% 
Campbellite,  2%  Qua- 
ker. Quite  a  few  are 
members  of  the  Mor- 
mon Church ;  a  few  are 
followers   of    Christian 

Science.  Not  one  of  them  has  been  imprisoned  for  crime. 
They  are  thrifty  and  prosperous,  law-abiding  and  patriotic.  Many 
of  them  bear  old  American  names;  all  of  them  are  full-fledged 
Americans. 

A  few  names,  by  way  of  illustration :  Lars  Larson,  the  leader 
of  the  Sloopers,  was  a  highly  respected  citizen  of  Rochester  until 
the  day  of  his  death,  November  13,  1845.  He  built  a  house,  in 
1827,  which  still  stands  at  41  Atkinson  St.,  Rochester.  At  this 
house  Larson  received  thousands  of  Norwegians  who  were  on 
their  way  from  Norway  to  Illinois  or  beyond.     He  is  known  to 


Georgiana   Larson   and  Lars   Larson's   House, 
Built  in  1827 


128 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


have  housed  over  100  at  one  time  and  fed  and  entertained  them 
for  days  at  his  own  expense  while  giving  them  valuable  informa- 
tion and  advice  about  America.  One  of  his  children,  Georgiana, 
still  owns  this  house,  although  she  lives  in  a  statelier  mansion 
close  by.    His  daughter,  Margaret  Allen,  born  on  the  Sloop,  mar- 


Rochcster.    '-  ■> . 


/  / 


Lars  Larson's  Check 
(Presented   to   Luther   College    Museum   by   Captain    Louis   Larson.) 

ried  John  Atwater,  city  superintendent  of  schools  at  Rochester, 
later  a  physician  in  Chicago.  One  of  Margaret  Atwater's  sons, 
John  Larson  Atwater,  was  a  Baptist  pastor  at  Western  Springs, 
111.,  and  the  inventor  of  the  Vive  cameras,  which  for  many  years 
competed  with  the  Kodaks.     He  is  now  retired,  a  strong  man  of 


John  L.  Atwater 


Jane  Sara  Atwater 
Three  Larson  Children 


Mabel  A.  Truesdell 


73,  living  with  two  of  his  sisters,  Jane  Sara  Atwater,  a  teacher 
in  the  Chicago  Public  schools  nearly  fifty  years  and  principal  of 
the  Parkside  School,  and  Mrs.  Mabel  Truesdell,  whose  daughter 
Charlotte  is  taking  her  A.  M.  in  biology  at  the  University  of 
Chicago  this  year.  Elias  Tastad  Larson,  a  son  of  Lars  Larson, 
was  a  gold  miner  in  California,  one  of  the  '49ers.  A  daughter 
of  Larson,  Martha  Jane,  began  to  teach  private  school  in  1844, 
though  only  12  years  of  age.     She  was  the  first  Norwegian  to 


The  Norwegian  Period 


129 


teach  English  school  in  America,  the  first  of  a  thousand  Misses 
Larson  who  have  labored  in  the  school  room  or  are  still  teach- 
ing the  young  in  the  way  they  should  go.  She  married  Elias 
Clark  Patterson,  a  New  York  inventor  of  milling  and  threshing 
machinery.     One  of  her  sons,  Elmore  Clark  Patterson,  is  the  in- 


Cecilie  Miller 

(Granddaughter) 


Svend  Johannesen 

(Son) 


Martha  Andersen 

(Granddaughter) 


Thorkild  Johannesen 

(Grandson) 


Svend  Johannesen 

(Grandson) 


Some  Descendants  of  Johannes  Stene,  Slooper 


ventor  of  an  auto  shade  lens,  a  manufacturer  of  auto  accessories, 
at  Chicago,  and  is  rated  as  a  millionaire. 

Ole  Johnson,  half-brother  of  Mrs.  Lars  Larson,  returned  to 
Norway  in  1827  to  secure  a  wife.  He  lived  on  his  farm  at 
Kendall  nearly  50  years  and  spent  his  latter  years  at  Rochester, 
N.  Y.  One  of  his  daughters,  Inger  Marie,  born  in  1839,  is  still 
owner  of  the  Johnson  home  at  Rochester.  A  great  niece,  Mrs. 
Anna  Danielson  Parker,  is  still  living  at  Kendall,  and  is  the  only 
relative  of  the  Sloopers  there  who  is  a  full-blooded  Norwegian. 
A  grand-nephew,  Joseph  M.  Johnson,  is  police  lieutenant  at  Chi- 
cago.    A   grandson,   Frank  Edward    Raymond,   was    employed 


130 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


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~      '-,  •$*        «y~ 

•£     >*i                        J  *. 

'"T>mt 

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The  Norwegian  Period 


131 


for  many  years  as  assistant  general  manager  of  the  Santa  Fe 
Railroad.  Another  grandson,  Ole  Johnson  Raymond,  is  a  phy- 
sician at  Wichita,  Kans.  A  third  grandson,  Edmund  Desire 
Colon,  is  a  shop  efficiency  engineer  of  the  Pere  Marquette,  at 
Detroit,  Mich.  Miss  Emily  Jane  Raymond,  a  great-grand- 
daughter, is  an  instructor  in  English  at  the  high  school  in  Holly- 


Caroline  C.  Bower 


Benjamin  Franklin 
Stangland 


wood,  Cal.  She  has  in  her  possession  Ole  Johnson's  Bible,  which 
he  had  along  with  him  on  the  Sloop  in  1825.  Her  brother  Ed- 
ward is  taking  his  B.  S.  in  chemistry  at  Knox  College  this  coming 
June.  -?4 

The    family   of    Cornelius    Nelson   Hersdal   has    distinguished 


Inger  Marie  Johnson  Emily  Jane  Raymond 

itself  in  many  ways.  Mrs.  Cornelius  Nelson  Hersdal  was  a 
sister  of  Cleng  Peerson.  The  oldest  son,  Nels,  born  in  1816, 
became  a  farmer  at  Norway,  111.  He  died  Aug.  29,  1893,  and 
was  the  last  male  survivor  of  the  Sloop  party.  A  daughter, 
Sarah,  born  in  1827,  began  to  teach  district  school  at  Fox  River, 
111.,  in  1845,  and  is  the  first  Norwegian  girl  to  teach  public 
school.  She  married  Canute  Peterson  Marsett,  who  came  from 
Norway  in  1837,  and  who  afterwards  became  a  Mormon  bishop 


132 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


at  Ephraim,  Utah.  In  1852-56  Bishop  Peterson  acted  as  Mormon 
missionary  in  Norway,  and  brought  with  him  to  Utah  about  600 
Scandinavian  immigrants.  In  1895  she  had  seven  children  and 
thirty-two  grandchildren.  A  son  of  Cornelius  Nelson  Hersdal, 
Peter  C.  Nelson,  was  a  farmer  at  Larned,  Kans.,  having,  in  1895, 
nine  children  and  twenty-three  grandchildren  living.  One  of 
Peter  Nelson's  daughters  married  Judge  Henry  W.  Johnson, 
president  of  the  Illinois  Central  Life  Insurance  Co.  of  Chicago. 
He  died  April  4,  1925.  Another  daughter  married  J.  A.  Quam, 
a  banker  at  Sheridan,  111.  There  are  in  all  212  names  in  the 
Cornelius  Nelson  family. 

Nels  Nelson  Hersdal,  brother  of  Cornelius,  was  the  progeni- 
tor of  a  large  and  prosperous  family,  located  in  La  Salle  County, 
111.  Rev.  Helmer  T.  Haagenson  has  located  106  of  the  Nels  Nelson 

offspring.  In  La  Salle  County 
lived  also  Daniel  Stenson  Ros- 
=adal,  as  do  most  of  his  descen- 
dants to  this  day,  255  strong. 
Thomas  Madland  had  three 
daughters,  and  all  three  mar- 
ried Sloopers — Rachel  married 
Lars  Olson  Helland,  the  cap- 
tain; Julia  married  Gudmund 
Haugaas,  who  became  a  Mor- 
mon preacher  and  practised 
medicine  in  La  Salle  Co.,  dying 
of  cholera  during  the  epidemic 
of  1849 ;  Serena  married  Jacob 
Anderson  Slogvig,  who  later 
died  as  a  man  of  wealth  at  San 
Diego,  California.  One  of  Dr. 
Haugaas'  daughters,  Caroline 
Cecilia,  married  Dr.  Reuben 
W.  Bower,  in  1867.  She  is 
still  living.  Among  her  children  are:  Dr.  George  S.  Bower, 
Galesburg,  Illinois;  Mrs.  Dr.  George  C.  Poundstone,  Chicago; 
and  Dr.  Willis  H.  Bower  (dentist),  Sheridan,  Illinois.  A.  S. 
Anderson,  a  son  of  Andrew  Dahl,  was  a  member  of  the  Utah 
Constitutional  Convention  in  1895.  Haugaas  is  the  progenitor  of 
203  descendants. 

Knud  Anderson  Slogvig  went  back  to  Norway  in  1835  to 
find  a  wife.  He  not  only  found  one  in  the  person  of  a  sister 
of  Ole  Olson  Hettletvedt,  but  he  was  also  the  main  cause  of  the 
great  exodus  from  Norway  in  1835.  Ole  Olson  Hettletvedt  was 
the  first  Norwegian  layman  to  preach  the  Lutheran  doctrine  in 
America,  the  first  to  teach  Norwegian  parochial  school  and  to 
act  as  Bible  colporteur.   He  is  said  to  have  preached  even  on  the 


Earl  Nelford  Larson,  1924 

(6th  generation  of  Daniel  Stenson  Rossadal's  race) 


The  Norwegian  Period 


133 


■  "^vi 

Hi 

jB^^  :  >*   'ff^^^Mrtf       jHUil 

jh  JrrSp| 

I^hIvW 

Bgj 

Top  Row :  Eric,  Jesse,  Gertrude,  Lee  Roy,  Jacob,  Jr. 

Bottom  Row :  Jacob,  Sr.t  Calvin,  Orvil,  Glenn,  Mrs.  Jacob,  Sr. 

The  Jacob  Rosdail,  Sr.,  Family 

(Jacob's    father,    Aave    Rosdail,    came    over    on    the    Sloop) 


Nels  Nelson   (Hersdal) 

(Came  over  on  the  Sloop) 


Mrs.  Emily  Rosdail- 
Fruland 

(Daughter    of    Aave    Rosdail) 


Daniel  Rosdail 

(Son    of    Aave    Rosdail) 


Sloop.  He  was  married  twice,  both  times  to  American  women. 
He  had  three  sons  and  a  daughter.  The  three  sons  enlisted  in 
Co.  F.,  36th  Regiment,  Illinois  Volunteers,  in  the  Civil  War. 
Their  names  were  James  Webster  Olson,  Soren  L.  Olson  and 
Porter  C.  Olson.     James  Webster  came  home  again  without    a 


134 


Nonvegian  People  in  America 


Norwegians 


scar.  Soren  L.  had  his  head  blown  off  at  the  Battle  of  Mur- 
freesboro,  Tenn.,  in  1862.  He  was  a  good  sergeant.  Porter  C. 
was  killed  in  the  Battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn.,  Nov.  30,  1864.  He 
had  been  a  student  at  Beloit  College,  and  at  the  opening  of  the 
Civil  War  he  was  teaching  school  at  Lisbon,  111.  Through  his 
efforts  a  company  was  recruited  at  Newark,  made  up  largely  of 
He    was    elected    captain    and    later    promoted    to 

colonel.  A  monument  to 
his  memory  has  been 
erected  at  the  Newark- 
Millington  Cemetery,  111. 
A  centennial  service,  was 
held  January  11,  1925,  at 
Newark,  111.,  in  honor  of 
his  father  as  the  first  Nor- 
wegian lay  preacher  in 
America.  The  address  was 
made  in  Norwegian  by  O. 
M.  Norlie.  As  one  result 
of  the  celebration  a  monu- 
ment will  be  placed  over 
the  resting  place  of  Ole 
Olson  Hettletvedt.  His 
grave  is  on  Lot  17,  Block 
3,  Newark  -  Millington 
Cemetery.  Mr.  Howard 
\V.  Derby,  a  great-grand- 
son of  Ole  Olson  Hettle- 
tvedt, is  a  senior  at  the 
College  of  the  Pacific, 
Stockton,  Cal.  He  has 
written  a  "Sketch  of  the 
Hettletvedt  Family"  for  his  aunt,  Mrs.  Chas.  J.  Platten,  High- 
wood  Park,  St.  Paul,  Minn.  Sven  Miller,  in  the  employ  of  the 
Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  Puget  Sound  Railway,  is  a  great-grand- 
son of  Johannes  Stene.  The  wife  of  President  C.  J.  Eastvold  of 
the  Southern  Minnesota  District  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran 
Church  is  a  grand  niece  of  Ole  Olson  Hettlevedt.  She  writes 
about  the  Slooper  and  her  grandfather  Knud,  his  brother,  in 
"Visergutten,"  May  7,  1925. 

Like  Hettletvedt,  Andrew  Stangeland  also  married  an  Amer- 
ican lady — Susan  Cary.  This  was  in  June,  1827,  before  he  had 
learned  to  speak  English.  He  lived  at  Kendall,  but  later  sold  his 
land  to  Ole  Aasland  and  got  in  exchange  some  land  at  Wolf 
Lake,  in  Noble  Co.,  Ind.  The  Aaslands,  now  calling  themselves 
Orslands,  still  live  in  Kendall,  N.  Y.  One  of  Andrew  Stange- 
land's    sons,     Benjamin     Franklin     Stangland,    is    a    mechanical 


Monument  of  Col.  Porter  Olson 

(Son    of    Ole    Olson    Hettletvedt,    Slooper) 


The  Norwegian  Period 


135 


engineer  of  New  York  City,  with  homes  at  Morton  and  Ro- 
chester. B.  F.  Stangland  (note  the  spelling)  is  the  eighth  of  nine 
children.  The  other  children  are:  Elezar  (1829),  Lydia  (1830), 
Talock  (1832),  Bela  (1834),  Rosetta  (1836),  Maria  (1839), 
Mary  E.  (1844),  and  Andrew  (1849).  Rosetta  married  Rev.  A. 
D.  Olds,  is  still  alive  and  on  Feb.  22,  1925,  celebrated  her  dia- 


A  "Kubberulle" 

(Home-made   wagon   used  by  Norwegian   pioneers.     Made   by   L.   D.   Reque,   Koshkonong,   Wisconsin. 
Now    in    Luther    College    Museum) 


Anders  A.  Klove  Andrew  Jensen  James  M.  YYahl 

Leland,  111.  Edgerton,  Wis.  Worthing,   S.  D. 

Norwegian  Pioneer  Fanners 

(Prominent  also  in  local  and   state   politics,    church   and   school   work) 


mond  (75th)  wedding  anniversary.  He  is  the  only  descendant 
of  the  Sloopers  who  has  succeeded  in  getting  a  place  among  the 
notables  in  "Who's  Who  in  America."  He  is  a  cousin  of  Charles 
Emil  Stangeland,  Ph.  D.,  listed  in  "Who's  Who"  as  a  political 
economist,  a  graduate  of  Augsburg  Seminary,  1898,  secretary  to 
the  American  Legation  at  La  Paz,  Bolivia  (1912-1913),  at  Lon- 
don (1914-15),  and  secretary  of  the  Nonpartisan  League,  Bis- 
marck, N.  D.,  during  the  World  War. 


136  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The  Sloop  "Restaurationen"  reached  our  hospitable  shores 
in   1825.     Over    a  decade  passed  before    the  next  boatload    of 

Norwegians  came  to  America.  Then,  in  1836, 
Later  Arrivals,  two  Norwegian  brigs,  "Norden"   (the  North) 

1825-1860  and  "Den  Norske    Klippe"     (The  Norwegian 

Rock),  left  Stavanger  July  12th  with  a  total 
of  approximately  160  passengers.  Meanwhile  every  year  had 
brought  some  Norwegians  to  America.  According  to  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Immigration  the  number  of  immigrants  from 
Sweden-Norway  from  1820  to  1835  was  as  follows: 

1820 3  1828 10 

1821 12  1829 13 

1822 10  1830 3 

1823 1  1831 13 

1824 9  1832 313 

1825 4  1833 16 

1826 16  1834 42 

1827 13  1835 31 

The  total  number  of  immigrants  from  Sweden-Norway 
during  these  16  years  was  509.  Some  of  them  were  no  doubt 
Swedes ;  most  of  them  were  surely  Norwegians.  In  many  ways 
the  census  figures  are  puzzling.  Only  four  immigrants  are  re- 
ported for  1825,  and  yet  there  is  overwhelming  evidence  to  prove 
that  53  came  over  on  the  Sloop.  In  1832  313  are  reported  as 
having  arrived.  So  far  we  have  no  other  evidence  to  prove  this. 
Knud  Langeland,  who  came  to  America  in  1843,  on  the  boat 
with  which  Cleng  Peerson  returned  from  his  last  visit  to  his  father- 
land, writes  in  his  work  on  Norwegian  immigration  that  indi- 
viduals in  those  days  who  wished  to  come  to  America  went  by  way 
of  Gothenburg,  Hamburg  or  Havre.  R.  B.  Anderson  lists  among 
the  immigrants  of  this  period  the  following:  Christian  Olson 
and  Gudman  Sandsberg,  1829;  Knut  Evenson,  Ingrebret  Lar- 
son Narvig,  and  Gjert  Gregorius  Hovland,  1831;  and  Johan 
Nordboe,  1832.  Flom  adds  the  name  of  David  Johnson  as 
having  arrived  in  1832.  With  the  exception  of  Johnson  they 
all  stopped  for  a  season  at  Kendall,  N.  Y.  Christian  Olson 
moved  to  La  Salle  Co.,  111.,  in  1837.  His  son  Erasmus  married 
Helga,  one  of  the  daughters  of  Daniel  Rossadal,  the  Slooper. 
Gudman  Sandsberg  made  his  home  at  Mission,  111.,  in  1836.  His 
daughter  married  M.  B.  Mitchell,  a  cigar  dealer  in  Ottawa,  111. 
Knut  Evenson  settled  in  Kendall,  where  he  died.  His  daughter 
Catherine  married  Nels  Nelson  (Hersdal),  Jr.,  the  last  male 
survivor  of  the  Sloop.  Ingrebret  Narvig  joined  Cleng  Peerson 
on  his  journey  to  Illinois  in  1833.  He  tired  of  the  march  and 
went  to  work  for  a  farmer  at  Erie,  Monroe  Co.,  Mich.,  where 
he  remained  until  1856.  Then  he  moved  to  Green  Lake  Co., 
Wis.,  where  he  resided  until  1885,  and  finally  he  moved  to  Tyler, 


The  Norwegian  Period  137 

Minn.,  where  he  died  in  1892.  He  was  married  twice,  to  Amer- 
ican women,  and  had  twelve  children.  He  was  the  first  Norwe- 
gian to  settle  in  Michigan.  He  practised  medicine  as  a  side 
calling,  but  did  not  ask  for  fees. 

Gjert  Hovland  was  probably  the  first  emigrant  from  Har- 
danger.  After  a  four  years'  stay  at  Kendall  he  moved  to  La 
Salle  Co.,  111.,  in  1835.  He  wrote  letters  home  to  friends 
urging  emigration,  and  hundreds  of  copies  of  his  letters  were 
circulated  far  and  wide  and  were  no  small  factor  in  leading 
many  people  in  southwestern  Norway  to  emigrate.  Johan 
Nordboe  came  from  Ringebu  in  Gudbransdal  in  eastern  Norway 
and  is  one  of  the  first  to  come  from  some  other  region  of  Nor- 
way than  Stavanger.  He  settled  in  Kendall  in  1832;  in  La 
Salle  Co,  111.,  in  1836;  in  Shelby  Co.,  Mo.,  in  1837;  and  in 
Dallas,  Tex.,  in  1838,  where  he  lived  on  a  farm  of  1920  acres 
and  practised  medicine.  He  was  the  first  Norwegian  to  settle 
in  Texas.  David  Johnson  had  been  a  sailor.  In  New  York 
he  secured  work  as  pressman.  In  1834  he  went  to  Chicago  as 
operator  of  the  newly  installed  cylinder  press  of  the  "Chicago 
Democrat."  He  was  the  first  permanent  Norwegian  settler  of 
Chicago. 

In  1835  Knud  Anderson  Slogvig,  the  Slooper,  returned  to 
Norway  to  get  married.  For  ten  years  the  people  had  been 
reading  the  letters  from  America,  and  with  growing  interest. 
Some  of  the  letters  were  sad  and  discouraging,  telling  of  hard 
times  and  advising  people  to  stay  at  home;  most  of  the  letters 
were  joyful  and  optimistic,  portraying  victory  after  struggle 
and  recommending  emigration.  These  letters  had  been  read 
with  the  deepest  interest,  but  here  was  a  man  who  had  spent  ten 
years  in  the  New  World.  The  news  of  his  arrival  spread  like 
wildfire  and  he  was  the  hero  of  the  day.  People  came  from  far 
and  near  to  see  Slogvig  and  to  interview  him.  Through  him 
Norway  got  its  first  real  taste  of  the  "America  Fever,"  and  he 
unwittingly  became  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  emigration. 
The  two  ships,  "Norden"  and  "Den  Norske  Klippe,"  which  left 
Stavanger  in  1836,  were  a  direct  answer  to  his  tale.  Most  of 
the  passengers  on  these  boats  went  directly  to  La  Salle  Co.,  via 
Larson's  home  in  Rochester.  Larson's  patience  in  dealing  with 
the  newcomers  never  waned  and  his  generosity  in  helping  them, 
never  was  withdrawn. 

The  next  year,  1837,  witnessed  two  more  ships  depart  from 
Norway  with  passengers  that  could  not  be  accommodated  in 
1836.  One  of  the  ships  was  called  "Enigheden"  (Harmony) 
and  sailed  from  Stavanger  with  93  passengers,  from  the  city  and 
county  of  Stavanger.  The  other  ship  bore  the  name  of  the  sea- 
god  Aegir.  It  departed  from  Bergen  on  July  4th,  carrying 
eighty-four  passengers  from  Hardanger,  Voss  and  Bergen,  with 


138  Norwegian  People  in  America 

also  one  man,  the  famous  Ole  Rynning,  from  Trondhjem. 
Thereby  a  new  movement  in  immigration  was  inaugurated,  in 
that  other  sections  of  Norway  than  Stavanger  began  to  con- 
tribute their  quota  of  immigrants  to  America. 

There  are  many  names  out  of  the  337  on  these  four  ships 
in  1836  and  1837  that  are  worthy  of  special  mention.  BjoYn 
Anderson  Kvelve,  for  example,  one  of  the  passengers  on  the 
"Norden,"  was  the  first  settler  in  the  town  of  Albion,  Dane  Co., 
Wis.,  and  a  very  active  and  useful  man  in  Norwegian-American 
history.  He  lived  through  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life  at  a 
time  when  the  nearest  town  was  70  miles  distant  and  the  fastest 
conveyance  was  the  oxcart  through  a  trackless  wilderness.  And 
just  as  fortune  began  to  smile  upon  his  labors,  the  cholera  came 
and  ended  his  life.  He  had  10  children:  Andrew  Anderson 
became  a  farmer ;  Bernt,  a  merchant ;  Abel,  a  Lutheran  pastor ;  two 
girls  married  Lutheran  pastors ;  two  girls  married  farmers  ;  two 
children  died  before  maturity ;  and  Rasmus  B.  Anderson  is  in- 
ternationally known  as  university  professor,  author,  editor,  lec- 
turer, business  promoter,  diplomat  and  authority  on  things 
Norwegian- American. 

Another  notable  in  this  group  was  Hans  Valder,  a  passenger 
on  the  "Enigheden."  Valder  lived  one  year  in  Michigan,  then 
moved  to  Mission,  111.,  in  1838.  In  1844  he  became  a  Baptist 
preacher,  the  first  Norwegian  Baptist  preacher  in  the  world.  In 
1853  he  retired  from  the  ministry  and  became  a  farmer  and 
hotel  keeper  at  Newburg,  Minn.  In  1871  he  served  as  a  member 
of  the  Minnesota  State  Legislature.  In  1892  he  had  sixteen 
children  and  more  than  150  descendants  living  in  six  different 
states.  His  son  Charles  was  the  proprietor  of  the  Valder  Busi- 
ness College  and  Normal  School,  Decorah,  Iowa.,  1888-1922. 

Another  important  character  who  emigrated  with  "Enig- 
heden," was  Hans  Barlien,  a  native  of  Overhalden,  Trondhjem. 
He  had  been  a  member  of  the  Norwegian  Storthing.  A  radical 
in  politics  and  a  liberal  in  religion,  he  had  as  editor  of  a  paper 
in  Norway  provoked  the  enmity  of  the  ruling  classes  and  was 
subjected  to  considerable  persecution.  Therefore  he  emigrated. 
Barlien  was  a  member  of  Cleng  Peerson's  party  that  settled  in 
Shelby  Co.,  Mo.,  in  1837,  and  in  1840  he  was  a  member  of  the 
party  that  settled  at  Sugar  Creek,  Lee  Co.,  la.  This  was  the  first 
Norwegian  settlement  in  Iowa,  and  Barlien  is  considered  as  its 
real  founder. 

A  number  of  important  men  came  over  on  the  Aegir,  notably 
the  following :  Mons  Adland,  Nels  Finland,  Anders  Nordvig  and 
Ole  Rynning.  Adland  came  from  Samnanger,  near  Bergen.  He 
settled  at  Beaver  Creek,  Iroquois  Co.,  111.,  and  together  with  his 
wife  was  the  last  to  abandon  that  marshy  and  malarial  settlement. 
He  then  moved  to  Racine   Co..   Wis.,   becoming  the   founder  of 


The  Norwegian  Period 


139 


the  Yorkville  Settlement.  His  daughter  Martha  became  the  wife 
of  Rev.  Adolph  C.  Preus,  one  of  the  early  patriarchs  of  the  Nor- 
wegian Synod.  Adland  was  a  brother  of  Knud  Langeland,  well 
known  journalist.  Nels  Frpland  also  came  from  Samnanger  and 
settled  in  Beaver  Creek.  His  son,  Lars  Fruland,  born  March  15, 
1831,  is  still  alive  and  resides  at  Newark,  111.,  spry  as  a  man  of 
60,  in  spite  of  his  96  years  of  hard  labor.  He  has  seven  children 
and  18  grandchildren.  Anders  Nofdvig  was  a  brother-in-law  of 
Mons  Adland.   He  died 

in    the    Beaver    'Creek  

Settlement.  His  daugh- 
ter Malinda  married 
Iver  Larson  Bo\  who 
emigrated  from  Voss, 
Norway,  in  1844.  Vic- 
tor F.  Lawson,  editor 
and  publisher  of  the 
''Chicago  Daily  News," 
the  largest  newspaper 
in  the  world,  is  her  son, 
born  1850.  He  has  been 
president  of  The  Asso- 
ciated Press,  is  Father 
of  the  Postal  Savings 
Bank  in  America,  estab- 
lished Daily  News 
Fresh  Air  Fund  and 
Lincoln  Park  Sanitar- 
ium for  sick  poor  chil- 
dren and  has  been  ac- 
tive i  n  philanthropic 
work. 

Ole  Rynning  was  a 
graduate  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Christiania,  class 
of"  1830.  He  settled  in 
the  Beaver  Creek 
marshes,  south  of  Chi- 
cago, and  like  the  rest 

of  the  colony,  took  sick.  While  he  lay  confined  to  his  death  bed 
he  wrote  a  small  book  about  America,  which  one  of  his  com- 
panions, Ansten  Nattesta,  took  with  him  to  Norway  in  1838  and 
had  it  printed  in  Christiania  (now  Oslo).  The  title  page  of  the 
book  reads :  "True  Account  of  America  for  the  Information  and 
Help  of  Peasant  and  Commoner.  Written  by  a  Norwegian  who  ar- 
rived there  in  the  month  of  June,  1837.  Christiania,  1838."  It 
is  the  first  book  written  by  a  Norwegian-American  and  the  first 
book  written  about  the  Norwegian-Americans.    It  is  simple,  clear, 


Snn&f»rrT>i5  Ocrcliung 

u 

m  er  if 

(if 

III 

©pbjsmug  ej  Ui;ttr  for  (ton* 

»9 

IttrtiiamonJ*- 

Iri 

->?<.>!•(?,  \o>"  torn  dcrottcr  i  ^ 

uni 

fr 

^„.     •> 

^«  - 

C  '.  r  i  1"  I  i  .!  ii  i  a. 

!»•:**• 

Facsimile   Picture  of  First  Page 
Rvnnin.o's   Book 


140 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


accurate,  scholarly,  and  might  have  been  written  by  a  man  who 
had  spent  a  long  life  in  America,  instead  of  a  newcomer  fighting 
fever  in  a  swamp.  The  book  is  in  the  form  of  questions  and 
answers,  questions  which  he  asked  himself  about  America  before 
coming  here,  and  answers  which  he  had  been  able  to  make  after 
having  come  here.  The  questions  cover  such  ground  as:  Loca- 
tion, distance,  history,  topography,  climate,  population,  govern- 
ment, Norwegian  settlements,  cost  of  land  and  living,  wages, 
religion,  schools,  language,  dangers  from  disease,  wild  beasts 
and  Indians,  kind  of  people  who  should  emigrate,  dangers  on 
the  sea  and  as  to  slavery,  and  guiding  advice  for  travelers.  The 
book  had  a  wide  distribution  and  a  profound  influence  for  over  a 
decade,  and  Rynning  has  been  considered  second  in  importance 
only  to  Cleng  Peerson,  as  one  of  the  fathers  of  Norwegian  im- 


Ole  K.  Nattesta  H.  O.  Nattesta  Charles  Orrin  Solberg 

Three  Generations  of  Nattestas 

migration.  Rynning  was  not  married,  but  he  had  a  sister,  whose 
son,  Rev.  Bernt  J.  Muus,  immigrated  in  1859  and  distinguished 
himself  as  one  of  the  most  energetic  and  stalwart  of  Lutheran 
pastors  in  the  pioneer  days,  numbering  among  his  achievements 
also  the  founding  of  St.  Olaf  College,  Nov.  6,  1874. 

Some  of  the  immigrants  from  this  year  (1837)  came  by  way 
of  Gothenburg.  They  came  from  Numedal  and  Telemarken  in 
south  central  Norway  and  are  a  sort  of  advance  guard  from 
those  districts.  From  Vaegli  in  Numedal  came  two  brothers, 
Ole  and  Ansten  Nattestad,  and  from  Tinn  in  upper  Telemarken 
came  Erik  Gauteson  Midb0en,  Mrs.  Thorsten  Thorson  Rue,  and 
several  others. 

The  Nattestad  brothers,  known  as  Nattesta  in  this  country, 
were  also  members  of  the  ill-fated  Beaver  Creek  Settlement  in 
1837.  Ole  Nattesta  wrote  an  account  of  his  journey,  beginning 
April  8,  1837,  with  his  departure  from  home,  until  Feb.  21,  1838, 
just  before   leaving    Beaver   Creek.      From    Beaver     Creek   the 


The  Norwegian  Period 


141 


brothers  went  to  La  Salle  Co.,  111.  In  July,  1838,  Ole  Nattesta 
entered  Wisconsin  and  made  his  home  at  Jefferson  Prairie,  also 
known  as  Clinton,  thus  becoming  the  first  Norwegian  settler  in 
Wisconsin.  His  brother  Ansten  returned  to  Norway  with  the 
two  manuscripts  about  America,  Rynning's  "True  Account  of 
America"  and  Ole  Nattesta's  "Day  Book."  The  latter  was 
printed  in  Drammen  in  1839.  The  original  manuscript  was  re- 
covered by  a  son,  James  Nattesta,  on  a  trip  to  Norway  in  1900. 
A  printed  copy  of  the  first  edition  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
youngest  son,  Henry  O.,  who  still  occupies  the  original  home- 
stead, a  farm  that  has  so  far  never  failed  of  a  crop.  A  grand- 
son of  Ole  Nattesta  is  Dr.  Charles  Orrin  Solberg,  president  of 
Augustana  College  and  Normal  School,  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D.    The 


Rev.  N.  E.  Boe 


Hon.  Oley  Nelson 
Veterans  of  Three  Wars 


Gen.  Alfred  Wm. 
Bjornstad 


significance  of  Nattesta  was  that  he  led  the  stream  of  Norwegian 
migration  into  Wisconsin.  The  direction  of  the  stream  was  un- 
certain until  he  took  the  step  he  did. 

One  of  the  leaders  from  Tinn  was  Erik  Gauteson  Midbo'en. 
"He  had  a  large  family,"  says  Anderson,  "and  settled  in  La 
Salle  County,  but  fortune  does  not  appear  to  have  smiled  on 
him.  He  became  a  Mormon,  and  in  the  capacity  of  a  Mormon 
preacher,  he  made  a  visit  to  Norway  and  died  soon  after  his 
return  to  America."  That  is,  he  was  one  of  the  first  Mormon 
missionaries  to  Norway,  if  not  the  very  first.  Mrs.  Thorsten  T. 
Rue  was  a  widow  with  two  sons,  Thorstein  and  John.  They 
made  their  home  at  first  in  La  Salle  County,  111.;  then  moved 
to  Shelby  County,  Mo.,  in  1838 ;  in  1840  they  departed  for  Lee 
County,  la. ;  and  in  1846  they  became  a  part  of  the  Blue  Mounds 
Settlement   in   Dane   County,   Wis.     John   Rue  took   the   name 


142  Norwegian  People  in  America 

John  Thompson,  better  known  as  "Snowshoe"  Thompson  from 
the  fact  that  for  twenty  years  (1856-1876)  he  was  the  U.  S. 
mail  carrier  from  Carson  Valley,  Ida.,  to  Placerville,  Cal.,  over 
the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  covering  the  ninety  mile  route 
on  skis.  He  had  gone  to  California  as  a  gold  hunter  in  1851 
and  is  said  to  have  worked  faithfully  for  the  postal  department 
twenty  years  without  any  other  pay  than  fine  promises.  His  life 
was  rilled  with  heroic  adventure.  Only  once  in  his  life  was  he 
afraid,  he  is  reported  to  have  said,  and  that  was  when  he  had 
to  pass  six  hungry,  howling  wolves.  Thompson's  skis  are  on 
exhibit  at  the  capitol  at  Sacramento — silent  witnesses  of  a  day 
that  is  gone  forever. 

It  is  impossible  to  list  all  the  ships  and  representative  men 
that  came  from  Norway  after  1837.  It  is  also  impossible  to  say 
just  how  many  immigrants  did  come.  The  immigration  statis- 
tics of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Immigration  places  Norwegians  and 
Swedes  in  one  rubric  until  1869.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
during  this  period  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  arrivals  from 
Sweden-Norway  were  Norwegians.  The  statistics  of  immigra- 
tion kept  by  the  U.  S.  officials  do  not  agree  with  those  kept  by 
the  officials  of  Norway.  The  two  lists,  for  the  period  1836-1860, 
are  as  follows : 

IMMIGRATION   STATISTICS,   1836-1860 

As   reported   by  As  reported  by 

the  U.    S.   Census  the  Norw.  Census 

Swedes-Norwegians  Norwegians  only 

Year                                          Number  Number 

1836 57  200 

1837 290  200 

1838 60  100 

1839 324  400 

1840 55  300 

1836-1840 786  1200 

1841 195  400 

1842 553  700 

1843 1748  1600 

1844 1311  1200 

1845 928  1100 

1841-1845 4735  5000 

1846 1916  1300 

1847 1307  1600 

1848 903  1400 

1849 3473  4000 

1850 1569  3700   . 

1846-1850 9168  12000 


The  Norwegian  Period  143 

As  reported  by  As  reported  by 

the  U.  S.  Census  the  Norw.  Census 

Swedes-Norwegians  Norwegians  only 

Number  Number 

1851 2424  2640 

1852 4103  4030 

1853 3364  6050 

1854 3531  595o 

1855 821  ioco 

1851-1855 14243  20270 

1856 1 157  3200 

1857 1712  6400 

1858 2430  2500 

1859 1091  1800 

i860 298  1900 

1856-1860 6688  15800 

1836-1860 35620  54270 

1825-1860 36094  54323 

The  United  States  Census  for  1860  enumerates  43,995  Nor- 
wegians born  in  Norway  and  18,625  Swedes  born  in  Sweden,  2.3 
times  as  many  Norwegians  as  Swedes.  On  the  basis  of  this  report 
the  immigration  figures  of  the  United  States  Bureau  are  too  small 
and  those  of  Norway  are  too  large. 

3.     The  Norwegian  Population,  1825-1860 

The  Sloop  Folk  comprised  nine  married  couples  whose 
average  age  was  thirty-two  years.  They  had  twenty-one 
children  whose  average  age  was  about  eight  years.  And  there 
were  thirteen  single  men  and  one  single  woman,  the  average  age 
of  these  fourteen  being  about  24  years.  The  average  age  of  the 
whole  group  was  20.4  years.  There  were  therefore  several  chil- 
dren born  to  these  young  married  couples  before  1830  and  there- 
after. Lars  Larson,  for  example,  had,  in  addition  to  the  Sloop 
baby,   Margaret  Allen,  several  other  children: 

Inger  Marie,  born  Feb.  18,  1827,  married  Wm.  F.  McFaden, 
1872. 

Lydia  Glazier,  born  Nov.  18,  1828,  married  Fred  C.  Whit- 
telsey. 

Elias  Tastad,  born  July  9,  1830,  married  Effie  . 

Martha  Jane,  born  July  30,  1832,  married  Elias  C.  Patterson, 
1879. 

Clara  Elizabeth,  born  July  30,  1834,  married  Alfred  E. 
Willets. 

George  Monroe,  born  July  8,  1841,  married  Louise . 

Georgiana  Henrietta,  born  July  19,  1845,  not  married. 

The  other  families  had  as  a  rule  large  families  The  young 
bachelors  married  as  soon  as  they  could  get  around  to  it .    Andrew 


144  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Stangeland  met  Susan  Cary  and  it  proved  to  be  a  case  of  love 
at  first  sight,  so  they  married,  in  1827.  He  had  two  children  by  1830 
— Elezar,  Jan.  11,  1829;  Lydia,  Feb.  20,  1830.  Ole  Johnson  went 
back  to  Norway  to  find  a  bride  in  the  person  of  Mrs.  Malinda 
Frink.  He  married  three  times  and  had  in  all  ten  children,  born  be- 
tween 1827  and  1850.  Oyen  Thompson  died  in  1826  and  his 
brother  Nels  married  his  widow  in  1827.  Nels  had  three  chil- 
dren: Serena,  born  March  18,  1828;  Abraham,  born  Dec.  23, 
1830;  and  Caroline,  born  July  15,  1833.  The  children  that 
came  over  on  the  Sloop  soon  were  of  age  and  got  married.  Julia 
Madland,  for  instance,  married  Dr.  Gudmund  Haugaas,  in  1827, 
and  had  ten  children  by  him  before  her  death  in  1846 ;  her  sister, 
Serena  Madland,  married  Jacob  Anderson  Slogvig  in  1831. 
Rachel,  the  oldest,  married  Captain  Lars  Olson  Helland,  pos- 
sibly in  1825.  Ellen  Rosdail  married  Cornelius  Cothren  in  1832 
and  had  six  children,  twenty-three  grandchildren,  thirty-nine 
great-grandchildren,  and  twenty-five  great-great-grandchildren 
(sixth  generation  from  Daniel  Rossadal,  Slooper).  Caroline  Ros- 
dail was  born  April  1,  1829;  she  married  Jens  Jacobs,  and  had  six 
children  by  him.  She  had  fourteen  grandchildren  and  twenty- 
eight  great-grandchildren. 

Margaret  Allen  Larson  married  John  Atwater,  in  1851,  and 
had  nine  children,  five  of  them  within  this  period: 

John  Larson,  born  August  7,  1852,  married  Emma  F.  Scran- 
ton,  1874. 

Margaret  Elizabeth,  born  Nov.  12,  1854,  died  Sept.  25,  1855. 

Jane  Sara,  born  March  3,  1858,  not  married. 

Lydia  Eva,  born  Oct.  12,  1860,  died  August  27,  1861. 

Clara  Josephine,  born  Feb.  5,  1863,  died  Dec.  6,  1866. 

Mary  Anna  Lincoln,  born  May  6,  1865,  died  Dec.  11,  1866. 

Emma  Mabel,  born  Oct.  4,  1868,  married  Chas.  Harvey  Trues- 
dell,  1895. 

Grace  Lillian,  born  Nov.  6,  1870,  died  Sept.  15,  1872. 

Sarah  Nelson,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Nelson  Hersdal,  was 
born  Feb.  16,  1827,  and  on  July  2,  1849,  married  Canute  Peter- 
son (Marsett),  afterwards  a  Mormon  bishop.  Her  first  son, 
Peter  Cornelius,  was  born  June  2,  1850,  at  Salt  Lake  City.  In 
1895  she  had  seven  children  and  thirty-two  grandchildren.  All 
this  is  written  to  illustrate  that  the  Norwegian-Americans  were 
a  prolific  race.  106  Nels  Nelsons  have  been  traced,  203  Haug- 
aases,  212  Cornelius  Nelsons,  255  Rosdails,  etc.  In  the  absence  of 
full  facts  as  to  the  second  and  third  generations  the  following  con- 
servative estimate  has  been  made : 


The  Norwegian  Period  145 

Year                     ist  Generation  2nd  Generation  3rd  Generation  Total 

1830 *ioo                           *5                          0  *I05 

1840 *i,ooo                      *ioo                         o  *i,ioo 

1850 12,678                    *i,902                        *2  *I4,582 

i860 45,995                   *io,999                      *64  *55,o58 

*  Estimate. 

4.  Norwegian  Settlements,  1825-1860 
Birds  of  a  feather  flock  together.  So  do  immigrant  new- 
comers from  foreign  lands,  whenever  possible.  Thus  our  Sloop- 
er  friends  found  it  expedient  to  settle  down  together  at  Kendall, 
N.  Y.  Later,  most  of  these  moved  farther  west  and  made  new 
settlements,  similar  to  the  one  they  forsook.  In"  1830  there  was 
as  yet  only  one  Norwegian  settlement.  In  1840  there  were 
seventeen,  located  in  six  different  states.  In  1850  there  were 
fifty-three  or  more,  distributed  throughout  a  dozen  states.  In 
1860,  more  than  110  counties,  scattered  over  fifteen  states,  had 
one  or  more  Norwegian  settlements.  In  addition  to  this  there 
were  Norwegians  who  for  valid  reasons  did  not  live  in  a  Nor- 
wegian settlement.  Thus,  Lars  Larson,  the  leader  of  the 
Sloopers,  did  not  go  to  Kendall,  but  preferred  to  remain  at 
Rochester,  where  he  could  ply  his  trade  as  boatbuilder.  The 
U.  S.  Census  of  1850  shows  that  there  were  Norwegians  in 
26  states,  that  is,  in  fourteen  states  besides  those  that  had 
Norwegian  settlements.  The  U.  S.  Census  for  1860  shows  that 
there  were  Norwegians  in  thirty-six  states,  that  is,  in  twenty-one 
states  besides  those  that  had  Norwegian  settlements.  The  Nor- 
wegian foreign-born  population  had  increased  from  about  100 
in  1830,  to  about  1000  in  1840,  to  12,678  in  1850  and  43,995  in 
1860. " 

The  following  table,  with  accompanying  map,  gives  a  bird's 
eye  view  of  the  progress  in  settlement  making  during  this 
period. 

NORWEGIAN    SETTLEMENTS   BY   COUNTIES 

Year 

1825 

1834 

1835 

1836 

1837 

1837 

1837 

1838 

1838 

1838 

1839 

1839 

1839 

1839 

1839 


No 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8, 
9 

10, 

11 
12 
13 

14 

IS 


State 

County 

New  York 

Orleans 

Illinois 

La  Salle 

Indiana 

White 

Illinois 

Cook 

Illinois 

Iroquois 

Missouri 

Shelby 

Illinois 

Stephanson 

Indiana 

Nobles 

Illinois 

Boone 

Wisconsin 

Rock 

Illinois 

Kendall 

Illinois 

Grundy 

Wisconsin 

Waukesha 

Wisconsin 

Racine 

Wisconsin 

Milwaukee 

146 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


No.     Year  State 

16.  1840 Wisconsin 

17.  1840 Io^"a 

18.  1841 ^  isconsin 

19.  1841 Wisconsin 

20.  1842 Wisconsin 

21.  1843 Wisconsin 

22.  1844 Wisconsin 

23.  1845 Wisconsin 

24.  1845 Wisconsin 

25.  1845 Iowa 

26.  1845 Texas 

27.  1846 Illinois 

28.  1846 Wisconsin 

29.  1846 Wisconsin 

30.  1846 Wisconsin 

31.  1847 Utah 

7,2.     1847 Michigan 

2)2>-     1848 Wisconsin 

34.     1848 Wisconsin 

3$.     1848 Wisconsin 

36.     1848 Wisconsin 

2,7-     1848 Wisconsin 

38.  1848 Texas 

39.  1849 California 

40.  1849 Iowa 

41.  1849 Wisconsin 

42.  1849 Wi  sconsin 

43.  1849 Wisconsin 

44.  1849 Wisconsin 

45.  1849 Wisconsin 

46.  1850 Minnesota 

47.  1850 Wisconsin 

48.  1850 Wisconsin 

49.  1850 Wisconsin 

50.  1850 Wisconsin 

51.  1850 Iowa 

52.  1850 Iowa 

53-     1850 Minnesota 

54.     1850 Minnesota 

55-     1851 Michigan 

56.     1851 Wiscons:n 

57-     1851 Minnesota 

58.      1852 Wisconsin 

59-     1852 Iowa 

60.  1852 Minnesota 

61.  1852 Minnesota 

62.  1852 Pennsylvania 

63-     1853 Iowa 

°4-     1853 Minnesota 

65-     1853 Minnesota 

66.     1853 Iowa 

67-     1854 New  Hampshire 

68.  1854 Wisconsin 

69.  1854 Wisconsin 

70.  i8^4 Wisconsin 

71.  1854 Texas 

72.  1854 [owa 

73-  1854 Iowa 

74-  1854 Iowa 

75-  1854 Iowa 


County 

Dane 

Lee 

Iowa 

Lafayette 

Walworth 

Dodge 

Green 

Columbia 

Fond  du  Lac 

Clayton 

Henderson 

Jo  Davies 

Osaukee 

Manitowoc 

Winnebago 

Salt  Lake 

Muskegon 

Brown 

Crawford 

Jackson 

Jefferson 

Vernon 

Kaufman 

Fayette 
La   Crosse 
Monroe 
Pierce 
Portage 
Richland 
Ramsey 
Adams 
Juneau 
Waushara 
Waupaca 
Allamakee 
Winneshiek 
Ram  sey 
Goodhue 
Manistee 
Door 
Fillmore 
Burnett 
Michel! 
Carver 
Winona 
Potter 
Worth 
Dakota 
Houston 
Clinton 
Coos 
Kewaunee 
St.  Croix 
Trempealeau 
Bosque 
Benton 
Chickasaw 
Iowa 
Story 


The  Norwegian  Period 


147 


No.  Year  State 

76.  1854 Minnesota 

jy.  1854 Minnesota 

78.  1854 Minnesota 

79.  1854 Minnesota 

80.  1855 Wisconsin 

81.  1855 Illinois 

82.  1855 Iowa 

83.  1855 Minnesota 

84.  1855 Minnesota 

85.  1855 Minnesota 

86.  1855 Minnesota 

87.  1855 Minnesota 

88.  1856 Wisconsin 

89.  1856 Iowa 

00.  1856 Michigan 

91.  1856 Minnesota 

92.  1856 Minnesota 

93.  1856 Minnesota 

94.  1857 Minnesota 

95.  1857 Minnesota 

96.  1857 Minnesota 

97.  1857 Nebraska 

98.  1857 Kansas 

99.  1858 Illinois 

100.  1858 Minnesota 

101.  1858 Minnesota 

102.  1858 Kansas 

103.  1859 Wisconsin 

104.  1859 South  Dakota 

105.  i860 South   Dakota 

106.  i860 South  Dakota 

107.  i860 Minnesota 

108.  i860 Kansas 

109.  i860 Kansas 

no.  i860 Iowa 


W 


County 

Dodge 

Olmsted 

Steele 

Mower 

Grant 

Livingston 

Hamilton 

Faribault 

Freeborn 

Rice 

Sibley 

Waseca 

Buffalo 

innebago 

Oceana 

McLeod 

Meeker 

Watonwan 

Blue  Earth 

Chippewa 

Red  Wood 

Dixon 

Greenwood 

Lee 

Kandiyohi 

Wright 

Atchison 

Polk 

Clay 

Yankton 

Union 

Jackson 

Brown 

Doniphan 

Woodburv 


Oettlemento   by   Decades 

(The    diagonal    lines    represent    decades    beginning    with    the    '30s.      For    every    10    years    the    line 
moves    northwestward    about    100    miles) 


148  Norwegian  People  in  America 

NORWEGIAN  SETTLEMENTS  BY  STATES 

Foreign-born  Foreign-born 

State  No.  Settlements      Norwegians,  1850      Norwegians,  i860 

Wisconsin 37  8651  21442 

Minnesota    27  7  8425 

Iowa    15  361  5688 

Illinois    10  2415  4891 

Kansas    4                            223 

Michigan    3  no  440 

Dakota  (S.  D.)    . . .  3  •  •  •  •  129 

Texas    3                            326 

Indiana    2  18  38 

New  York  1  392  539 

New  Hampshire  1  2  5 

Missouri    1  155  146 

Nebraska 1                             

California     1                             715 

Utah     1  ....                              

Total— 
these  15  states no  121  n  43007 

Total — other    states  o  567  088 

Grand  total    no  12678  43995 

In  the  above  list  it  will  be  seen  that  37  of  the  settlements  were 
located  in  Wisconsin,  27  in  Minnesota,  15  in  Iowa,  10  in  Illi- 
nois, four  in  Kansas,  three  in  Michigan,  three  in  Texas,  three  in 
South  Dakota,  two  in  Indiana  and  one  each  in  New  York,  New 
Hampshire,  Missouri,  Nebraska,  California,  and  Utah.  In  1860 
nearly  fifty  per  cent  of  the  Norwegians  were  located  in  Wis- 
consin. 

It  should  be  noted  that  these  early  Norwegian  settlements 
were  all  pioneer  settlements,  and  that  they  were  on  the  very  out- 
skirts of  civilization  at  the  time  they  were  made.  They  lacked 
practically  all  the  modern  conveniences  in  the  home  and  on  the 
farm;  they  had  no  church,  school  or  market  awaiting  them. 
Neighbors  were  few  and  far  between.  There  were  no  roads; 
the  prairies  were  trackless.  The  rivers  and  marshes  were  diffi- 
cult to  ford.  The  woods  and  forests  were  almost  impassable. 
Even  the  matter  of  reaching  their  destination  was  a  work  of 
no  small  concern,  because  the  steamboat  and  the  railroad  were  as 
yet  only  in  the  earliest  pioneer  stage  of  their  development.  Wild 
beasts  and  hostile  Indians  were  their  neighbors;  destructive 
prairie  fires  and  death  dealing  plagues  made  their  annual  visits. 

The  Erie  Canal  had  just  been  opened  in  1825,  the  year  in 
which  the  advance  guard  of  Sloopers  came.  In  Pennsylvania, 
the  opening  of  this  canal  caused  great  excitement,  and  well  it 
might,  for  traffic  would  now  go  by  water  through  New  York  for 
about  one-third  what  it  would  cost  over  land.     The  people  of 


The  Norwegian  Period 


149 


Pennsylvania  demanded  canals  and  roads  at  state  expense  to  meet 
the  competition.  The  energy  of  Pennsylvania  alarmed  the 
neighbors  in  Maryland,  who  now  demanded  a  speedy  and  cheap 
route  to  the  West,  which  all  felt  was  now  opening  up.  It  was 
decided  to  build  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  on  July 
4,  1828,  the  work  of  construction  began.  In  1830  the  road  was 
opened — a  distance  of  fifteen  miles.  The  rails  were  of  wood  and 
the  cars  were  drawn  by  horses.  An  era  of  railroad  building 
began.  In  1835  there  were  twenty-two  railroads  in  the  United 
States,  but  only  two  were  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  not  one 
was  140  miles  long.  Steam  engines  began  to  come  into  use  in 
1830,  and  after  1836  became  the  sole  locomotive  power.    In  1840 


Prairie  Schooner 

the  railroad  mileage  had  increased  to  4,026  miles  for  the  whole 
country.  In  1850*  to  9,021  miles,  and  in  1860  to  30,626  miles. 
The  Norwegian  people,  however,  went  on  ahead  of  the  rail- 
roads in  the  making  of  the  110  settlements  listed  above  and  others 
not  listed.  Most  of  the  immigrants  went  by  the  canal  route  through 
New  York  and  then  by  steamboat  on  the  Great  Lakes  to  Mil- 
waukee and  Chicago.  Some  stepped  off  at  Detroit  and  then  pro- 
ceeded by  ox  cart  the  rest  of  the  way,  while  others  journeyed  the 
whole  distance,  from  New  York  to  the  Mississippi  Valley  in 
their  prairie  schooners. 

The   first   Norwegian   settlement,   as   already  stated,   was   at 
Kendall,  Orleans  County,  New  York,  in  the  northeastern  corner 

of  the  county  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario 
New  York,  1825         m  northwestern   New  York.    The   land  here 

was  heavily  wooded  and  the  clearing  of  the 


150  Norwegian  People  in  America 

forests  required  hard  work,  but  no  income.  The  people  naturally 
suffered  great  privations  and  often  longed  to  get  back  to  the  Old 
Country,  a  fact  shown  very  plainly  in  some  of  the  letters  home, 
which  have  been  preserved,  and  in  the  traditions  which  have  been 
handed  down  to  their  descendants. 

In  1923-1924  Gunnar  Malmin  was  sent  by  the  Carnegie  Foun- 
dation and  the  American-Scandinavian  Foundation  to  Scandinavia 
to  make  researches  concerning  immigration.  Malmin  found  a  large 
number  of  interesting  letters  and  newspaper  accounts,  some  of 
which  have  been  published  serially  in  "Decorah  Posten"  under 
the  title  "Norsk  Landnam  i  U.  S."  (Norwegian  Landtaking  in 
the  U.S.).  A  number  of  these  letters  are  bright  and  cheerful; 
others  are  gloomy  and  sorrowful.  "Fruitful  land,"  remarks  Tor- 
sten  Gaarden,  Racine,  October  28,  1843,  but  he  tells  a  sad  tale 
of  31  who  died  of  the  cholera  that  fall.  Wisconsin  is  best,  thinks 
Gunder  Misbo';  Texas  is  best,  is  Halvor  Aslakson's  dictum.  JpY- 
gen  A.  Wibelve  writes  from  Pein  Lek  (Pine  Lake),  Weskontien 
(Wisconsin),  October  12,  1841,  that  he  made  the  trip  in  eight 
weeks.  John  N.  Gjo'sdal  relates  that  68  from  Tinn  were  already 
dead  of  the  swamp  fever,  in  1844.  One  man  writes  from  Decorah, 
Eovei  (Iowa),  August  1,  1857,  saying  that  he  was  bid  $2,000.00 
for  his  120  acres.  An  anonymous  writer  from  Milwaukee,  August 
12,  1853,  complains:  "Woe  is  me,  that  was  so  foolish  as  to  leave 
Norway,  and  I  surely  have  been  punished  for  my  folly."  "Glorious 
land!"  writes  Halvor  H.  Bjornestad  of  Chicago,  January  4,  1844, 
"my  advice  is:  Come  here."  Halvor  J.  Nymoen  of  Modum  tells, 
January  9,  1840,  that  he  left  Gothenburg  on  an  American  boat 
May  25,  1839.  The  immigrants  on  this  boat,  "The  Constitution," 
were  badly  mistreated.  "We  were  kept  as  prisoners,"  he  writes. 
"The  captain  had  a  vicious  dog  on  board  who  went  about  loose 
and  bit  both  adults  and  children  many  times,  but  the  crew  just 
laughed  at  this.  They  called  us  devils.  The  sailors  threatened  to 
hit  me  with  a  hammer  in  order  to  force  me  to  drink  whiskey. 
Many  of  us  were  beaten  up."  Another  one  writes  that  he  had 
his  collar  bone  broken  by  the  captain  of  his  boat.  He  had  riot 
understood  the  captain.  Most  interesting  and  judicious  of  all  the 
letters  are  those  by  Munch-Rseder,  a  law  graduate,  who  wrote  for 
the  "Norske  Rigstidende,"  November  6,  1847-July  3,  1848,  20 
letters  in  all.  He  prophesies  that  the  United  States  will  become 
one  of  the  greatest  of  nations  and  that  the  Norwegians  will  con- 
tribute largely  to  its  making. 

In  1871  Arad  Thomas  published  a  pioneer  history  of  Orleans 
County  in  which  he  speaks  about  the  first  Norwegian  settlement, 
in  part,  as  follows :     "They  came  from  Norway  together  and  took 


The  Norwegian  Period 


151 


up  land  in  a  body.  They 
were  an  industrious, 
prudent  and  worthy 
people,  held  in  good  re- 
pute by  people  in  that 
vicinity.  After  a  few 
years  they  began  to 
move  away  to  join  their 
countrymen  who  had 
settled  in  Illinois,  and 
but  a  few  of  that  colony 
are  still  in  Kendall. 
They  thought  it  very 
important  that  every 
family  should  have  land 
and  a  home  of  their 
own.  A  neighbor  once 
asked  a  little  Norwe- 
gian boy,  whose  father 
happened  to  be  too  poor 
to  own  land,  where  his 
father  lived,  and  was 
answered :  'Oh,  we 
don't  live  nowhere.  We 
hain't  got  no  land.'  ' 

Concerning  the  prog- 
ress of  this  colony,  in- 
teresting information  is 


Lahe  Ontario 


Lewis  Parker  and  Wife,  nee  Anna 
Danielson,  Kendall,  N.  Y. 


given  in  three  letters  found  in 
Anderson's  "First  Chapter."  One 
is  a  letter  by  H.  Harwick,  being 
the  Henrick  Hervig,  Slooper.  He 
says :  "After  the  land  was  clear- 
ed, we  found  the  soil  to  be  very 
good,  and  a  crop  grows  here  as 
good  as  in  few  places  in  the 
vicinity."  At  the  time  of  his 
letter,  "January  20,  1871,  the  land 
was  worth  from  $50.00  to 
$100.00  an  acre.  Now  (in  1925) 
it  is  the  best  Baldwin  apple  tract 
in  the  world.  The  main  part  of 
his  letter  relates  to  the  church 
conditions  in  the  colony.  He  says 
that  they  have  many  churches  and  various  denominations,  but  he 
does  not  mention  either  Quakers  or  Lutherans.     It  seems  that  they 


Northeast  Corner  of  Orleans  County 
Kendall   Settlement 


152  Norwegian  People  in  America 

never  had  either  Quaker  or  Lutheran  congregations  in  this  colony. 
For  that  reason,  Ole  Johnson,  a  Quaker,  finally  left  the  colony  and 
moved  to  Rochester  where  he  could  attend  Quaker  meetings.  He 
was  a  Hicksite  Quaker,  whereas  Lars  Larson  was  an  Orthodox 
Quaker.  A  well-thumbed  copy  of  Hicks'  "Sermons"  published  in 
1826,  owned  by  Ole  Johnson,  is  now  in  the  Luther  College  Mu- 
seum, presented  by  Ole  Johnson's  daughter,  Inger.  A  letter 
from  Canute  Orsland  dated  January,  1895,  shows  that  the  colony 
had  at  least  seventeen  Norwegians  at  the  time,  16  of  whom  had 
moved  in  at  various  times  after  the  founding  of  the  settlement — 
1838,  1840,  1852,  1853,  1857,  1858,  1870,  1871,  1882,  1883,  1887, 
and  as  recently  as  1891. 

The  only  direct  descendant  of  the  Sloopers  living  in  the  colony 
in  1895  was  Andrew  J.  Stangeland,  whose  father  was  Andrew 
Stangeland,  Slooper.  The  third  letter  dated  February  28,  1895, 
and  written  by  Anna  Danielson,  now  Mrs.  Lewis  Parker  of  Ken- 
dall, gives  a  good  deal  of  information  about  the  early  times  and  the 
condition  in  1895.  She  still  resides  in  Kendall,  has  been  a  seam- 
stress, raises  strawberries,  writes  for  the  papers,  and  is  proud  of 
her  Norwegian  lineage.  "When  I  was  little,"  she  writes,  "I  used 
sometimes  to  hear  the  people  say :  'Oh,  they  are  Norwegians,'  in 
a  tone  as  though  we  did  not  count  for  much.  They  made  fun  of 
the  Norwegians  and  it  cut  so  deep  the  wounds  have  never  healed 
exactly.  The  scars  are  very  tender."  Kendall  should  have  a  proud 
monument  in  memory  of  the  Sloopers. 

Illinois  was  made  a  territory  in  1809;  a  state,  in  1818.  Its 
population  in  1800  was  2,358,  largely  French.    La  Salle  County 

received  its  name  from  the  French  explorer,  La 
Illinois,  1834  Salle,  who  sailed  down  the  Mississippi  in  1682 

and  proclaimed  the  Mississippi  and  all  the  land 
it  drained,  the  property  of  France.  La  Salle  County  was  organ- 
ized in  1830  and  the  first  settlers  were  a  mixed  class  from  New 
York,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Virginia,  and  immigrants  from  Germany, 
Ireland  and  Norway. 

(a)     La  Salle 

The  Norwegians  settled  along  the  Fox  River  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  county,  in  Rutland,  Mission  and  Miller  town- 
ships. The  land  had  not  yet  been  surveyed  into  sections.  The 
newcomers  on  their  arrival  selected  claims  and  squatted  on  them 
until  they  were  placed  on  the  market.  The  records  at  Ottawa, 
the  county  seat,  reveal  that  when  the  land  was  put  on  the 
market  in  1835  the  following  Norwegians  purchased  land:  On 
June  15th  Jacob  Slogvig,  80  acres  in  Rutland;  and  Gudmund 
Haukaas  (Haugaas),  160  acres  in  Rutland.  On  June  17th,  Cleng 
Peerson,  80  acres  in  Mission ;  and  his  sister,  Carrie  Nelson,  widow 


The  Norwegian  Period 


153 


Kendall  Co 


Grundy  Co 


Northeast  Corner  of    LoSolle  County 
Fox  River  Settlement 


of  Cornelius  Nelson  Hersdal, 
80  acres  in  Mission.  On  June 
25th,  Peerson  bought  80  acres 
more  for  himself.  On  June 
17th,  Gjert  Hovland,  who  im- 
migrated in  1835,  bought  160 
acres  in  Miller;  and  on  the 
same  date  Thorstein  Olson 
bought  160  acres,  of  which  he 
sold,  on  Sept.  5th,  80  acres  to 
Nels  Nelson  Hersdal.  On 
June  17th,  Nels  Thompson 
bought  160  acres  in  Miller; 
and  on  Jan.  16,  1836,  Thor- 
stein Olson  purchased  80  acres 
more.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  the  Fox  River  settlement  in 
La  Salle  County,  in  point  of  time  the  second  settlement,  and  in 
point  of  interest,  perhaps  the  first,  in  Norwegian-American 
history. 

(b)     Chicago 

Chicago  is  the  second  Norwegian  settlement  in  Illinois.     The 
first  Norwegian  settler  in  Chicago  was  the  sailor  David  Johnson, 

who  came  to  Chicago  to  run  the  new 
press  of  the  "Chicago  Democrat,"  Chi- 
cago's first  newspaper.  This  was  in 
1834,  and  Chicago  was  then  a  very 
small  village.  It  was  not  yet  incor- 
porated, and  no  man  could  have  fore- 
told its  marvellous  growth,  which  sur- 
passes any  of  the  fictitious  tales  of  the 
Arabian  Nights.  The  progress  of  Chi- 
cago truly  amazes  mankind.  Think  of 
it:  A  dismal  swamp,  surrounded  by 
water  on  the  one  side  and  a  trackless 
desert  on  the  other,  within  the  span 
of  a  single  life,  has  been  transformed 
into  one  of  the  mightiest  cities  on  the 
globe,  with  a  population  of  nearly 
3,000,000  busy  people  from  all  parts 
of  the  world.  Lars  Fruland,  still  hale 
and  hearty,  living  within  the  shadow 
of  Chicago's  sky  scrapers,  came  to  Chi- 
cago in  1837,  the  year  it  became  in- 
corporated, and  has  beheld  all  this  fabulous  growth  within  his  own 
lifetime.    The  rapid  growth  of  the  city  ceases  to  be  an  enigma 


Lars  Fruland  at  96 


154  Norwegian  People  in  America 

when  one  studies  intelligently  the  conditions  which  have  led  to 
it.  It  has  in  reality  only  kept  pace  with  the  country  of  which  it 
is  the  natural  commercial  center. 

The  Norwegians  have  been  pioneers  in  opening  up  this  west 
country  whose  commerce  is  drained  by  Chicago,  and  they  have  been 
prominent  also  as  citizens  of  Chicago  in  its  building.  In  1925 
Chicago  has  about  100,000  citizens  of  Norwegian  birth  or  descent 
— 20,481  born  in  Norway,  24,480  born  here  of  foreign-born  par- 
entage, and  over  50,000  belonging  to  the  third,  fourth  and  fifth 
generations.    It  is  the  largest  Norwegian  settlement  in  America. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  name  all  the  prominent  Norwegians 
in  Chicago,  even  during  the  period  1825-1860.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
that  in  1836  there  came  a  number  of  Norwegian  immigrants  who 
settled  in  Chicago.  Among  these  were  Johan  Larson  from  Kob- 
bervik,  Svein  Lothe  from  Hardanger,  Nils  Rothe  from  Voss,  and 
Halstein  Torrison  from  Fjeldberg.  Torrison  worked  as  gardener 
for  W.  L.  Newberry,  the  founder  of  the  Newberry  Library. 
Torrison  built  himself  a  fine  house  on  the  spot  where  the  North- 
western Depot  now  stands.  In  1840  Iver  Larson,  the  father  of 
Victor  Lawson,  the  present  publisher  of  the  "Chicago  Daily  News," 
landed  in  Chicago.  Also  Jens  Olson  Kaasa,  a  master  mason  and 
builder  of  Our  Savior's  Church  at  Erie  and  May  Streets.  He 
and  the  pastor,  Rev.  Jens  Krohn,  were  the  most  generous  givers 
to  the  building  of  this  house  of  worship.  Kaasa  donated  $3,230.00 
and  Krohn  $2,370.00,  magnificent  sums  in  those  pioneer  days. 
John  Anderson  from  Voss  arrived  in  Chicago  in  1846,  then  a  ten- 
year-old  lad.  His  father  died  of  the  cholera  in  1849,  and  thereby 
John's  school  days  were  at  an  end.  He  peddled  apples  and  sold 
newspapers  on  the  streets,  got  a  job  in  a  printing  office  and 
became  the  best  compositor  in  the  city.  Then,  in  1866,  he 
founded  "Skandinaven,"  now  in  its  60th  year,  one  of  the  best 
newspapers  in  the  country,  and  organized  the  John  Anderson 
Publishing  Co.,  which  is  still  doing  business  at  511  N.  Peoria 
Street.  Paul  Anderson,  one  of  the  earliest  Norwegian  pastors  in 
Chicago,  was  the  first  Norwegian  pastor  to  use  the  English  lan- 
guage in  his  pulpit  and  Sunday  School.  There  could  hardly  have 
been  a  call  for  it  at  that  time,  but  Paul  Anderson  believed  in  the 
use  of  English  to  the  extent  that  he  did  not  teach  his  own  children 
Norwegian.  There  are  others  equally  foolish  even  in  our  en- 
lightened day. 

(c)     Beaver  Creek 

Brief  mention  will  here  be  made  of  only  one  more  Norwegian 
colony  in  Illinois — the  ill-fated  Beaver  Creek  Settlement.  It  was 
located  in  the  northeast  part  of  Iroquois  County,  near  the  present 
town  of  Beaverville,  about  60  miles  due  south  of  Chicago.  It  had 
been  founded  in  the  summer  of  1837  by  the  party  of  immigrants 


The  Norwegian  Period  155 

that  came  over  on  the  Aegir  in  June  of  that  year.  At  Detroit 
they  had  been  joined  by  the  Nattesta  brothers,  Ole  and  Ansten. 
At  Chicago  they  met  Bjp'rn  Anderson  Kvelve  who  then  lived  at 
Fox  River  in  La  Salle  County,  but  advised  them  not  to  settle  there 
because  they  would  all  die  of  the  malarial  fever  which  raged  there. 
They  paused  in  despair.  Ole  Rynning,  their  leader,  could 
talk  English  and  was  advised  by  two  Americans,  with  whom  he 
conferred,  to  go  south  to  Beaver  Creek.  A  delegation  of  four — 
Ole  Rynning,  Ole  Nattesta,  Ingebrit  Brudvig  and  Niels  Veste — 
was  sent  down  there  to  explore  the  country.  These  returned  with 
a  favorable  report.  And  so  these  people — eighty-six  in  number — 
went  to  Beaver  Creek.  When  the  rains  came,  it  was  discovered, 
too  late,  that  the  settlement  was  situated  in  a  vast  marsh.  In  this 
low  and  unhealthy  climate  most  of  the  party  died  next  spring. 
Also  Ole  Rynning  died,  this  great  and  good  man,  who  on  his 
death-bed  wrote  "A  True  Account  of  America,"  already  referred 
to.  The  settlement  disappeared  the  next  year.  The  last  one  to 
leave  it  was  Mons  Adland  (Aadland),  who  staid  on  until  1840. 
Later,  the  marshes  were  drained  and  Frenchmen  ploughed  the  sod 
under  which  the  Norsemen  of  1837-1838  lay  buried.  Visiting  the 
Beaver  Creek  region  in  1917,  the  author  found  that  boys  and 
girls  on  the  streets  of  Beaverville  conversed  in  French  in  prefer- 
ence to  English. 

Indiana  was  the  third  state  to  be  settled  by  the  Norwegians. 
The  first  European    visitor  to    these  parts-  was    La  Salle,  who 

coasted  along  the  Ohio  River  in  1669.  Indi- 
lndiaim,  1837  ana  was  taken  from  the  English  in   1778.    It 

became  a  territory  in  1800  and  a  state  in  1816. 
Indiana  is  an  unbroken,  undulating  plain  and  has  rich  alluvial 
soil,  which  should  have  been  attractive  to  the  land-hungry 
Norwegians. 

Our  first  information  about  Norwegian  settlements  in  Indi- 
ana is  that  by  Ole  Rynning,  who,  in  answer  to  the  question,  "In 
what  part  of  the  country  have  the  Norwegians  settled?"  answers: 
"Norwegians  are  to  be  found  scattered  about  in  many  places  in 
the  United  States.  One  may  meet  a  few  Norwegians  in  New 
York,  Rochester,  Detroit,  Chicago,  Philadelphia  and  New  Or- 
leans, yet  I  know  of  only  four  or  five  places  where  several 
Norwegians  have  settled  together."  He  then  names  Orleans 
County,  N.  Y.,  La  Salle  County,  111.,  White  County,  Ind., 
Shelby  County,  Mo.,  and  Iroquois  County,  111.,  as  the  only  Nor- 
wegian settlements  at  that  time  (1838).  Concerning  the  Indi- 
ana settlement  he  says :  "There  are  living  in  this  place  as  yet 
only  two  Norwegians  from  Drammen,  who  together  own  up- 
wards of  1100  acres  of  land;  but  in  the  vicinity  good  land  still 
remains  unoccupied."  R.  B.  Anderson  tried,  but  was  unable,  to 
discover  anything  further  about  these  two  Norwegians. 


156  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Another  Norwegian  settlement  in  this  state  was  in  Nobles 
County,  dating  from  1838.  In  that  year  Ole  Aasland,  a  wealthy 
farmer  of  Flesberg,  Numedal,  Norway,  sold  out  and  came  to 
America,  via  Gothenburg.  He  stopped  at  Kendall  and  got  into 
the  hands  of  a  speculator  who  sold  him  600  acres  of  land  in 
Nobles  County,  Ind.,  near  Fort  Wayne,  at  a  good  price.  Aas- 
land, or  Orsland,  as  he  called  himself,  had  paid  the  passage  of 
twenty  of  his  countrymen  on  condition  that  they  should  work 
for  him  here  until  their  debt  was  paid.  They  accompanied  him 
to  Indiana,  but,  as  the  land  was  swampy  and  the  people  took  sick 
of  swamp  fever  and  many  of  them  died,  he  returned  to  Kendall. 
He  traded  his  600  acres  in  Indiana  to  Andrew  Stangeland, 
Slooper,  for  50  acres  of  Kendall  property.  There,  along  the 
Norwegian  Road,  some  of  his  descendants  have  been  living  in 
peace  and  prosperity  to  this  day.  The  Stangelands  moved  to 
Indiana,  but  later  returned  to  Kendall.  B.  F.  Stangland,  above 
mentioned,  was  born  in  Nobles  Co.,  Jan.  20,  1848. 

In  spite  of  its  good  soil,  Indiana  has  never  attracted  the  Nor- 
wegians. The  number  of  foreign-born  Norwegians  within  the 
state  in  1850  was  18;  in  1860,  38;  in  1870,  123;  in  1880, 
182;  in  1890,285;  in  1900,384;  in  1910,  531 ;  and  in  1920, 
544. 

Missouri  (Indian  name,  meaning  Big  Muddy)  was  discovered 
by  Marquette  and  Joliet  in  1673  and  claimed  for  France.  The 
Louisiana  Purchase  made  by  President  Thorn- 
Missouri,  1838  as  Jefferson  from  Napoleon  in  1803  included 
Missouri.  Missouri  became  a  territory  in 
1812;  a  state,  in  1820.  As  to  surface,  soil,  climate  and  products, 
it  is  one  of  the  most  diversified  of  the  great  western  states. 

Cleng  Peerson  explored  Missouri  and  planted  a  colony  in 
Shelby  County,  in  March,  1837.  The  first  colonists  were  Jacob 
Anderson  Slogvig,  the  Slooper,  Anders  Askeland,  and  12  others. 
To  recruit  the  Shelby  Settlement  Peerson  went  to  Stavanger, 
Norway,  in  1838,  returning  in  1839  with  a  company  of  immi- 
grants. 

A  good  description  of  the  Shelby  Colony  and  its  troubles  is 
found  in  Peter  Tesman's  "Short  Description,"  printed  in  Sta- 
vanger in  1839.  Peter  Tesman,  together  with  his  two  brothers, 
William  and  Hans,  and  three  other  persons,  emigrated  in  1838 
by  way  of  Bremen.  After  an  eight  weeks'  voyage  they  reached 
New  York  and  there  met  Cleng  Peerson,  who  persuaded  them 
to  follow  him  to  Missouri.  They  took  the  Erie  Canal-Lake  Erie 
route  as  far  as  Cleveland,  but  stopped  at  Rochester  to  add  a  few 
more  Norwegians  to  their  company,  making  a  total  of  twenty- 
two.  From  Cleveland  they  followed  the  Ohio  Canal  down  to 
Portsmouth,   from  whence  they  transferred  their  belongings  to 


The  Norwegian  Period  157 

Ohio  River  boats.  Eventually  they  reached  St.  Louis  and  the 
Shelby  homesteads.  The  situation  so  far  had  not  been  very  in- 
viting— summer  heat,  hard  labor  and  death-dealing  sickness,  and 
the  money  going  fast.  The  settlement  was  a  wilderness  and 
was  far  from  town.  Sickness  and  poverty  stalked  in  every 
household.  The  squatters  had  an  opportunity  to  buy  their  land 
at  the  public  auction  that  year,  but  they  were  all  too  poor  to 
take  advantage  of  it.  Others  then  bought  the  land,  and  the  Nor- 
wegians had  to  leave  house  and  home  and  squat  again  on  some 
unoccupied  spot.  Peter  Tesman  paid  for  his  land,  and  in  con- 
sequence he  had  so  little  money  that  he  would  either  have  to  go 
out  as  a  day  laborer  or  go  back  home.  He  decided  to  go  back 
home.  Peerson  had  gone  by  the  Ohio  River  route  because  Slog- 
vig  and  Askeland  had  returned  to  La  Salle  County  dissatisfied, 
and  he  feared  that  if  he  went  by  the  La  Salle  Settlement, 
his  new  recruits  would  refuse  to  go  to  Missouri.  Tesman  re- 
turned by  way  of  La  Salle  and  found  that  people  there,  too,  had 
their  full  share  of  pioneer  hardships,  including  the  ravages  of 
the  cholera. 

The  Shelby  County  Settlement  was  short  lived.  The  settlers 
were  dissatisfied.  It  was  too  much  of  a  wilderness  and  too  far 
to  market.  One  of  the  settlers,  Peter  Gjilje,  once  walked  for 
nine  days  before  he  found  a  human  habitation.  During  these  days 
he  lived  on  wild  strawberries.  Cleng  Peerson  is  said  to  have 
chosen  a  new  place  for  settlement  at  Sugar  Creek,  about  eight 
miles  west  of  Keokuk,  Lee  County,  Iowa.  Most  of  the  Shelby 
County  settlers,  following  the  lead  of  Andrew  Simonson,  moved 
in  1840  to  Sugar  Creek,  but  Peerson  remained  behind  and  did 
not  sell  his  Missouri  farm  until  1847,  when  he  was  about  to  join 
the  Swedish  Communistic  Colony  at  Bishop  Hill,  111.  At  Sugar 
Creek  Barlien  and  others  were  already  coming  in  from  the  east. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Shelby  Settlement  was  badly  chosen, 
but  Andrew  Simonson  gave  this  testimony  in  1879 :  "No  settle- 
ment ever  founded  by  Norwegians  in  America  had  a  better  ap- 
pearance or  better  location  than  this  very  land  in  Shelby  County, 
of  which  the  Norwegians  took  possession  at  that  time,  and 
which  they  in  part  still  own."  In  1920,  according  to  the  U.  S. 
Census,  Shelby  County  had  four  foreign-born  Danes  and  two 
foreign-born  Swedes,  but  no  foreign-born  Norwegians. 

Missouri  has  never  been  a  Norwegian  state.  In  1850  it  had 
155  foreign-born  Norwegians;  in  1860,  146;  in  1870,  297; 
in  1880,  373;  in  1890,  526;  in  1900,  530;  in  1910,  660;  and 
in  1920,  610.  Missouri  was  a  slave  state,  and  Norwegians  hated 
slavery.  Besides,  the  state  lay  too  far  south.  The  Norwegians 
preferred  the  North. 


158  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The  Norwegians  entered  Wisconsin  in  1838  and  came  there 
to  stay.     Wisconsin  was  visited  by  the  French  explorer  Nicollet 

as  early  as  1634.  In  1763  it  was  ceded  to 
Wisconsin,  1838  England;     in  1783,  to  the  United  States.     It 

became  a  territory  in  1836;  a  state  in  1847. 
Rock  County  was  organized  in  1838,  that  is,  the  same  year  in 
which  Ole  Nattesta  captured  it  for  the  Norwegians.  Wisconsin 
had  been  from  time  immemorial  one  of  the  best  happy  hunting- 
grounds  of  the  Indians  and  an  Eldorado  for  the  French  traders. 
Southern  Wisconsin  supplied  the  French  and  Indians  with  lead, 
and  in  1821  the  Americans  opened  operations,  until  the  output 
reached  25,000  tons  of  lead  a  year.  In  developing  the  lead  mines 
the  lands  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  Winnebagoes,  Sacs  and 
Foxes  were  overrun.  The  Indians  protested  and  began  what  is 
known  as  the  Black  Hawk  War,  from  the  name  of  the  Indian 
leader.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  in  which  Captain  Abraham 
Lincoln  took  part,  the  Indians  were  forced  to  give  up  10,000,000 
acres  of  land  and  to  move  further  west.  In  this  way,  Rock 
County  was  fairly  cleared  of  its  Indians. 

Americans  who  had  seen  the  beautiful  landscapes  in  Rock 
County,  took  part  in  that  great  frenzy  of  speculation,  which  ended 
in  the  panic  of  1837.  There  were  many  towns  on  paper,  in  which 
there  was  not  a  house  or  a  citizen,  and  the  town  lots  thereof  were 
sold  at  fabulous  prices.  In  1837,  for  example,  Newburg,  one  of 
these  "wild  cat"  towns,  was  sold  for  $20,000.00  and  shortly  after- 
ward resold  at  $95,000.00.  Luckily,  the  panic  came,  with  much 
suffering  in  its  train,  after  which  people  came  to  their  senses 
again. 

(a)   Rock  County 

The  Norwegians  found  the  land  delightful  in  every  way  and 
cheap  in  price.  The  speculation  boom  was  over.  In  place  of 
speculation  now  came  a  season  of  settling  and  building,  the  like 
of  which  Wisconsin  had  so  far  never  seen.  Rock  County  became, 
as  far  as  Norwegians  are  concerned,  a  doorway,  not  only  to  Wis- 
consin, but  to  all  the  Northwest.  Thousands  of  immigrants  had  in 
view  Rock  County  as  their  first  objective,  if  not  their  last,  and 
throughout  the  Northwest  will  still  be  found  hundreds  of  set- 
tlers who  came  first  to  Rock  County  before  deciding  on  where  to 
go  further.  Some  of  them  settled  at  Jefferson  Prairie;  others 
at  Rock  Prairie ;  still  others  at  Beloit,  Janesville,  Brodhead,  etc. 
P.  O.  Langseth,  in  his  history  of  the  Norwegians  in  Rock  County, 
calls  it  the  "Inexhausible  Rock  County." 

In  this  county  many  of  the  great  Norwegians  of  America 
have  been  nurtured ;  many  of  the  most  vital  historical  events 
have  there  taken  place.  The  first  three  Norwegian  Lutheran 
pastors    in    America — Eielsen,     Clausen    and     Dietrichson — each 


The  Norwegian  Period 


159 


WlSCONSl  N 


D.  N,..h        Sy~oa. 

o  .  M.vcis        SUoJe 

6   .  T«.lt.p|rtN 

E  .  FLL,-5S     S,~oW« 


y  ILLINOIS 

Illustrating  Location  of  Norwegian  Lutheran   Congregations  and  Settlements 


160  Norwegian  People  in  America 

lived  and  labored  in  this  county  at  about  the  same  time.  Three 
synods  first  saw  the  light  of  day  in  this  county — the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church  in  America  (Eielsen  Synod),  1846;  the 
Norwegian  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  America  (Norwegian 
Synod),  1851;  and  the  Scandinavian  Augustana  Synod,  1860. 

(b)     Muskego 

Muskego  was  the  second  Norwegian  settlement  in  Wisconsin. 
In  the  summer  of  1839,  40  people  from  Tinn,  Telemarken,  took  a 
Gothenburg  boat  for  America,  together  with  twenty  from  Sta- 
vanger.  They  came  up  through  Rochester  and  the  Great  Lakes. 
Their  boat  on  the  Lakes  was  a  miserable,  unseaworthy  craft, 
carrying  a  cargo  of  powder.  It  might  have  been  blown  up.  Twice 
the  boat  came  near  sinking.  At  last  they  reached  Milwaukee  and 
were  about  to  depart  for  La  Salle  County,  111.,  but  were  pre- 
vented from  doing  so  by  the  enterprising  business  men  of  Mil- 
waukee, who  pleaded  eloquently  against  the  open,  storm-swept 
plains  of  Illinois  and  the  terrible  malarial  epidemic  down  there. 
Finally,  the  newcomers  were  persuaded  to  settle  in  Muskego,  a 
low,  marshy  place,  about  20  miles  southwest  of  Milwaukee.  In 
the  summer,  when  everything  was  dried  up,  Muskego  looked  good 
to  them,  but  when  the  fall  rains  came,  the  poor  immigrants  found 
that  they  lived  in  a  swamp  and  that  for  several  months  a  year 
they  were  visited  by  the  dreaded  cholera  and  malaria.  In  1843 
every  home  but  one  was  visited  by  the  cholera.  In  1849  the 
cholera  came  like  the  angel  of  death  in  Egypt,  ending  lives  in 
every  hut  and  house.  Strong  men,  retiring  at  night,  often  were 
found  stiff  in  death  in  the  morning.  The  pastor,  H.  A.  Stub, 
sometimes  buried  a  dozen  or  more  a  day.  Few  settlements,  if  any, 
thinks  H.  R.  Holand,  have  seen  so  much  struggle  and  privation, 
sickness  and  poverty,  sorrow  and  blasted  hopes,  and  yet  no 
settlement  can  present  a  brighter  picture  of  victories  won  and 
great  things  accomplished  during  the  early  pioneer  days  than  can 
Muskego. 

Muskego  is  located  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  Milwau- 
kee County,  the  southeastern  corner  of  Waukesha  County, 
but  mainly  in  Yorkville,  Raymond  and  Waterford  townships  in 
Racine  County.  The  eastern  Part  of  Racine  County  is  often 
referred  to  as  North  Cape  and  Yorkville  Prairie;  the  western 
section  is  usually  called  Norway  or  simply  Muskego.  There  were 
many  accessions  to  the  settlement,  notwithstanding  the  severe 
hardships  it  had  to  undergo.  Every  one  bragged  of  his  own 
settlement,  of  course,  and  tried  to  discourage  immigrants  from 
going  to  other  fields.  Johan  R.  Reierson,  for  example,  settled  in 
Texas  in  1847.  He  wrote  a  book,  "Veiviseren"  (The  Pathfinder), 
in  which  he  specifically  warns  immigrants  against  Muskego. 
Consequently,  many  parties  of  immigrants  made  it  a  point  to  avoid 


The  Norwegian  Period  161 

Muskego.  Still  Muskego  kept  on  growing,  and  is  today  one  of  the 
finest  and  richest  parts  of  Wisconsin.  Big  ditches  have  drained 
the  swamps.  The  heavy  forests  have  been  felled.  The  land  is 
a  garden,  in  the  midst  of  which  stand  numerous  substantial  resi- 
dences and  barns  in  the  place  of  the  dug-outs  and  log  sheds  the 
pioneers  occupied. 

Here  is  a  partial  list  of  the  pioneers :  John  Luraas  was  the 
leader  of  the  first  party  that  settled  at  Muskego.  He  was  a  good 
man.  John  Evenson  Molee,  a  member  of  Luraas'  party,  has  given 
in  Anderson's  "First  Chapter"  an  interesting  account  of  the  three 
months'  journey  from  Tinn  to  Muskego.  In  1855  Molee  moved 
to  Blue  Mounds,  Wis.;  in  1873,  to  Bloomfield,  Fillmore  County, 
Minn.  His  son,  Elias  J.  Molee,  of  Tacoma,  Wash.,  has  tried  to 
create  a  universal  language,  which  he  calls  "teutonish." 

In  1840,  the  settlement  had  important  accessions  in  the  per- 
sons of  So'ren  Bache,  Johannes  Johanneson  and  Elling  Eielsen, 
the  first  two  from  Drammen,  the  last  from  Voss.  These  three 
had  come  over  together  on  the  same  boat  in  the  summer  of  1839 
and  had  made  their  way  to  the  Fox  River  Colony  in  La  Salle. 
Johanneson  did  not  like  the  Illinois  prairies,  so  he  and  Bache 
walked  up  along  the  Fox  River  until  they  came  to  Wind  Lake, 
and  settled  down  there  in  the  black  forests,  near  the  present 
Norway  postoffice.  Eielsen  came  later.  Bache  was  a  rich  man, 
and  very  generous.  He  accidentally  killed  a  woman  when  out 
hunting  and,  almost  crazed  with  grief,  he  returned  to  Norway. 
Johanneson  died  in  1845  of  the  cholera. 

Eielsen  was  a  lay  preacher  of  the  Haugean  school  in  Norway. 
In  1841  he  built  at  Fox  River  the  first  Norwegian  house  of  wor- 
ship in  America.  That  same  year  he  walked  to  New  York  to  get 
the  Lutheran  catechism  printed.  He  succeeded  in  getting  it 
printed  in  English.  Again,  in  1842,  he  footed  it  to  New  York, 
and  got  Pontoppidan's  "Sandhed  til  Gudfrygtighed"  and  the  Augs- 
burg Confession  printed  in  one  volume  in  Norwegian,  "in  Gothic 
type."  On  Oct.  3,  1843,  he  was  ordained,  thus  becoming  the  first 
Norwegian  Lutheran  pastor  in  America.  On  April  13-14,  1846, 
he  organized » the  first  Norwegian  Lutheran  synod  in  America, 
of  which  he  was  president  until  his  death,  Jan.  10,  1883. 

Of  other  immigrants  to  Muskego,  let  it  suffice  to  mention  Mons 
Adland  (Aadland),  Claus  L.  Clausen,  Anund  Drotning,  Hans 
Friis,  Jens  O.  Hatlestad,  Even  Heg,  John  Homme,  Peter  Jacob- 
son,  Nels  Johnson,  Knud  Langeland,  Johan  R.  Reymert,  Hans 
Andreas  Stub  and  Hermo  N.  Tufte. 

Adland  has  already  been  mentioned  as  being  the  last  man  to 
leave  the  Beaver  Creek  settlement. 

Clausen  was  a  Dane.  He  had  accepted  a  call  to  come  to 
Muskego  as  parochial  school  teacher.  When  he  came,  his  people 
wanted  him    as    their  pastor  and    he  was  regularly    ordained, 


162  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Oct.  18,  1843.  His  first  wife  was  Martha  Rasmussen,  the  author 
of  the  well  known  hymn:  "Saa  vil  vi  nu  sige  hverandre  farvel" 
(And  now  we  must  bid  one  another  farewell).  In  1845  Clausen 
accepted  a  call  to  Koshkonong,  Wis. ;  in  1846,  to  Rock  Prairie, 
Wis. ;  in  1853,  to  St.  Ansgar,  la.  He  helped  to  organize  four 
synods  and  was  editor  of  two  papers.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Iowa  Legislature  and  a  commissioner  of  immigration.  He  was 
a  chaplain  in  the  Civil  War.  Through  his  influence  Luther  Col- 
lege was  not  made  merely  a  preparatory  school  for  ministers. 
Luther  College  therefore  welcomes  any  youth  who  desires  a  higher 
Christian  education  as  well  as  those  who  intend  to  prepare  for 
the  ministry.  C.  W.  Clausen,  his  son  by  his  second  wife,  Bergette 
Brekke,  was  the  state  auditor  at  Olympia.  Washington,  for  many 
years. 

Anund  Drotning  reared  a  good  son  in  Edwin,  for  many 
years  postmaster  at  Stoughton.  Wis.,  an  exemplary  American 
citizen  in  every  sense,  though  a  pacifist. 

Hans  Friis  was  a  sea  captain  who  had  brought  nine  emigrant 
ships  across  the  Atlantic  between  1837  and  1847.  In  1847  he 
became  an  American  citizen  and  sailed  the  Great  Lakes.  He  en- 
listed in  the  Civil  W7ar.  was  wounded,  and  spent  his  old  age  on 
his  farm  in  Muskego.    He  died  in  1886,  at  the  age  of  75. 

Jens  O.  Hatlestad  was  the  father  of  Rev.  Ole  J.  Hatlestad, 
Norwegian  Lutheran  pastor,  1854-1892.  Ole  Hatlestad  has  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  one  of  the  first  editors  and  publishers  among 
Norwegian-Americans.  The  verv  first  Norwegian  paper  was 
called  "Nordlyset,"  published  in  "Muskego,  1847-1849.  "Nord- 
lyset'' was  purchased  by  Hatlestad  and  his  brother-in-law,  Knud 
Langeland.  Its  name  was  changed  to  "Democraten,"  and  it  was 
issued  during  1849-1850.  Hatlestad  served  thirteen  vears  as 
president  of  the  Norwegian  Augustana  Synod,  1870-1881,  1888- 
1890,  and  wrote  in  1887  one  of  the  first  histories  of  the  Nor- 
wegian people  in  America. 

Even  Heg  was  a  sort  of  Lars  Larson  in  Muskego.  His  place 
was  the  haven  and  hospice  of  all  immigrants  who  came  through  or 
to  Muskego.  His  son,  Hans  C.  Heg,  was  the  colonel  of  the 
Fifteenth  Wisconsin,  a  volunteer  regiment  of  soldiers  in  the 
Civil  War,  whose  membership  was  over  90%  Norwegian. 
Col.  Heg  was  born  at  Drammen,  Dec.  21,  1829,  and  emigrated 
in  1840.  He  was  one  of  the  Norwegian  '49ers  on  the  California 
gold  fields.  He  was  a  brave  soldier  and  a  good  commander.  He 
was  killed  in  action  at  the  Battle  of  Chickamanga,  Tenn.,  Sept.  20, 
1863.  A  fitting  monument  to  his  memory  is  soon  to  be  erected  at 
Madison.  The  money  has  been  raised  mainly  through  the  efforts 
of  Waldemar  Ager,  Heg's  chief  biographer.  His  sister  Andrea  was 
one  of  the  first  Norwegians  to  teach  school  in  Wisconsin.     She 


The  Norwegian  Period 


163 


married  Dr.  Stephen  O.  Himoe  (Holmo),  a  surgeon  in  the 
Fifteenth  Wisconsin. 

John  Homme  was  the  father  of  Rev.  Even  Homme,  the 
founder  of  the  first  Norwegian  orphanage  and  the  first  home  for 
the  aged,  and  one  of  the  first  to  issue  Sunday  School  papers  for 
children  and  youth.  The  town  of  Wittenberg,  Wis.,  was 
founded  by  Homme. 

Peter  Jacobson  was  the  progenitor  of  a  large  tribe  of  Jacob- 


ft     f 

J 

% 

1    % 

4 

?K 

•X* 

3  i 

m 

_ 

The  Samuel  Jacobson  Family 

(Relatives   of   Peter   Jacobson.    with    home    at    Port    Washington.    Wi 


in<l    Kenyon.    Minn.) 


sons  who  now  have  a  good  place  in  the  sun  in  many  counties. 
From  1846  to  1906  there  was  in  Ozaukee  County,  Wis.,  near 
Port  Washington,  a  large  settlement  of  Jacobsons,  whose  worth 
and  work  can  hardly  be  overstated.  Nels  Jacobson,  the  patriarch 
of  the  settlement,  was  the  unofficial  arbitrator  in  every  dispute  for 
many  miles.  Germans,  Americans  and  other  nationalities  used  to 
say :  "Let's  ask  the  Jacobsons."  About  the  year  1906  most  of 
these  good  people  moved  to  Goodhue  county,  Minn.,  in  order  to 
get  closer  to  the  Norwegian  people.  Peter  Jacobson,  the  Mus- 
kego  patriarch,  built  the  Muskego  Church  in  1843.  His  sons 
moved  and  rebuilt  it  on  the  grounds  of  the  United  Church  Semi- 
nary, St.  Paul,  in  1904,  now  called  the  Luther  Theological  Semi- 
nary.  Their  cousin,  Axel  Jacobson,  has  been  superintendent  of  the 


164 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Indian  School  of  the  Norwegian  church,  and  the  American  Gov- 
ernment, at  Wittenberg,  since  1888.  Axel's  daughter  Carolyn 
is  a  graduate  of  the  American  Conservatory,  Chicago,  and  the 
wife  of  Prof.  L.  A.  Moe,  Decorah. 

Nels  Johnson  arrived  in  1839.  In  1855-1857  he  was  a  Nor- 
wegian Methodist  pastor  at  Cambridge,  Wis.  From  1857  to  his 
death  in  1882,  he  lived  in  Winneshiek  county,  la.  He  was  the 
father  of  Martin  N.  Johnson,  congressman,  1891-1899,  and  U.  S. 
senator  from  North  Dakota,  1899-1911. 

Knud  Langeland  is  best  known  as  an  editor.  He  edited 
"Democraten"  in  1849-1850;  "Skandinaven,""  in  1866-1872; 
"Amerika,"  1872-1873 ;  "Skandinaven,"  1873-1881 ;  also  "Den 
Norske  Amerikaner,"  in  the  early  fifties.     He  was  a  member  of 


James  D.  Reymert 


Knud  Langeland 


Hans  C.  Heg 


the  Wisconsin  Legislature  in  1860.  Before  his  death,  in  1888, 
at  Milwaukee,  he  published  a  short  history  of  the  Norwegians  in 
America.  His  son  Peter  is  a  practising  physician  in  Milwaukee. 
Another  son,  Leroy,  is  news  editor  of  the  "Evening  Wisconsin," 
Milwaukee. 

James  Denoon  Reymert  was  the  first  editor  of  a  Norwegian 
paper  in  America,  "Nordlyset"  (The  Northern  Light),  published 
at  Muskego,  1847-1849.  Even  Heg  furnished  the  money  to  run 
the  paper.  Ole  Torgerson  was  the  typesetter.  The  paper  had 
200  subscribers  the  first  year.  As  to  politics  it  supported  the 
Free  Soilers.  Ole  J.  Carlson,  a  pioneer  at  Colton,  S.  D.,  con- 
tracted to  deliver  it  to  the  settlers  in  Muskego,  and  should  get  as 
pay  a  pair  of  overalls  the  first  year  and  thereafter  $10.00  a  year. 
The  paper  brought  Reymert  into  public  notice.  He  was  made  a 
member  of  the  Wisconsin  Constitutional  Convention  in  1847,  of 
the  State  Legislature  in  1849,  of  the  Senate  in  1854-55  and  1857, 
and  was  the  first  Norwegian  in  America  to  hold  a  state  office.  He 
built  a  plank  road  over  the  Muskego  marshes.  He  established 
saw  mills.     He  was  justice  of  peace,  superintendent  of  schools, 


The  Norwegian  Period; 


165 


Where  the  First  Norwegian  Newspaper  in 
America  Was  Printed 


vice-consul  for  Swe- 
den -  Norway,  presi- 
dential elector,  receiv- 
er and  tax  collector, 
U.  S.  disbursing  agent, 
and  Democratic  candi- 
date for  Congress.  In 
1861  he  moved  to 
New  York  and  estab- 
lished a  law  office  with 
large  practice.  In  1873 
he  went  to  Chili, 
South  America,  and 
engaged  in  business. 
In  1876  he  moved 
back  to  the  United 
States  and  organized 
the  Reymert  Silver 
Mining  Company  at  Pinal,  Ariz.  President  Grover  Cleveland  ap- 
pointed him  a  judge.  He  died  in  Los  Angeles  in  1896.  One  of 
his  sons,  and  three  of  his  nephews,  through  his  influence  became 
lawyers.    Lake  Denoon  is  named  after  him. 

Hans  A.  Stub  heed- 
ed the  call  of  the 
Norwegian  settlers : 
"Come  over  and  help 
us."  Full  of  faith  and 
youthful  enthusiasm 
he  began  to  serve  the 
Norwegian  Congrega- 
tion at  Muskego  as 
Lutheran  pastor  in 
1848.  In  1855  he  was 
transferred  to  Coon 
Prairie,  Wis.  On  June 
27,  1907,  Pastor  Stub 
was  called  to  his  re- 
ward after  a  long  life 
of  blessed  service  in 
the  Master's  kingdom. 
In  1849,  during  the 
most  frightful  epi- 
demic of  cholera  in 
the  history  of  the 
Norwegian     settle- 

Hans  G.  Stub  at  Age  of  12  and  His  Sister        menTts.'  a  son  was  born 
Bolette  Marie  (later  Mrs.  Rev.  J.  E.  Bergh)     to    H.    A.    Stub    and 


166 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Sorcn    Bache's  Log  Hut 


English,    Norwegian   and    German   with 


wife,  destined  to  rear 
head  a  n  d  shoulders 
above  his  fellows. 
This  son  is  Hans  Ger- 
hard Stub,  D.D.,  Litt. 
D.,  LL.D.  Stub  was 
educated  at  the  Bergen 
Cathedral  School, 
Norway ;  Luther  Col- 
lege, Iowa ;  Concordia 
Seminary,  St.  Louis ; 
and  Leipzig  Univer- 
s  i  t  y,  Germany.  H  e 
speaks  and  writes 
equal  facility.  He  has 
been  pastor  at  Minneapolis,  1872-78;  professor  of  systematic 
theology  and  Old  Testament  at  Luther  Seminary,  1878-96 ;  pastor 
and  college  professor,  Decorah,  Iowa,  1896-1900;  professor  of 
theology,  Luther  Seminary,  1900-17;  president  of  Luther  Semi- 
nary; president  of  the  Norwegian  Synod,  1911-17;  president  of  the 
Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  of  America,  1917 — ;  president  of 
the  National  Lutheran  Council,  1919-22;  etc.  He  has  been  editor  of 
"Theologisk  Tidsskrift"  and  "Kirketidende"  and  has  written  sev- 
eral books.  He  has  been  thrice  knighted  by  the  King  of  Norway, 
Haakon  VII:  In  1908,  created  Knight  of  St.  Olav;  in  1912,  made 
Commander  of  St.  Olav ;  in  1923,  decorated  with  the  Grand 
Cross.  His  life  has  been  most  closely  identified  with  the  story 
of  the  Norwegians  from  the  days  of  the  most  primitive  begin- 
nings to  the  present 

with  its  manifold     HHHpi^M^p^pilii11   |H9PJ|HM|HS 
successes.     He  has  Wr&M  mfc 

tasted  poverty,  hard-      Ml^BK^ 
ships,  aspiration,  toil, 
self-denial,     victory.     BPff 
In  him  are  harmoni-     |RH 
ously  blended  a  true 
love   of   the   country     WHfiJ 
of  his  fathers  and  of 
this  his  native  land,        BB 
together  with  a  just 
appreciation    of    the 
free  institutions  and      mSm 
opportunities  of  each.      iSplli 
He  has  been  a  faith- 
ful servant.    His  life 
is  inspiring. 


Hauling  Grain  to  Market 


The  Norwegian  Period 


167 


Muskego  Church    (1843),  Rev.  J.  M.  Hestenes,  Pastor   (1925),  and 
Bethlehem  Church,  Minneapolis  (1893),  Olin  S.  J.  Reigstad,  Pastor  (1925) 


168  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Hermo  N.  Tufte  was  the  first  immigrant  from  Hallingdal. 
Now  there  are  surely  over  25,000  Hallings  in  America,  over  twice 
as  many  as  dwell  in  the  old  valley.  Tufte  was  a  devout  Haugean. 
His  family  turned  out  well.  One  of  his  sons  is  said  by  Holand 
to  have  been  the  most  lovable  man  in  Racine  County.  Three  of 
his  daughters  made  notable  marriages — Sigrid  married  Rev.  Elling 
Eielsen,  the  far-famed  revivalist  and  pioneer  missionary;  Julia 
married  Thomas  Adland,  son  of  Mons  Adland,  himself  like  his 
father,  one  of  Muskego's  best  men;  and  Betsey  married  O.  B. 
Dahle,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  Mt.  Horeb,  Wis.  father  of  Congress- 
man Herman  B.  Dahle. 

(c)     Koshkonong 

Only  one  more  of  the  Norwegian  settlements  will  be  noticed, 
and  that  very  briefly.  Koshkonong  was  the  third  and  mightiest 
of  the  Norwegian  settlements  in  this  great  Norwegian  state. 
Koshkonong  lies  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Dane  County.  The 
first  Norwegians  located  there  in  the  spring  of  1840.  They  were 
Gunnul  Olson  Vindeg,  BjoYn  Anderson  Kvelve,  Nels  Larson 
Bolstad,  Lars  Olson  Dugstad,  Anders  Finn©7,  Nels  Severson  Gil- 
derhus,  Amund  Anderson  Hornef  jeld  and  Thorstein  Olson  Bjaad- 
land,  one  of  the  Sloopers.  Also  Magny  Buttelson,  Lars  Davidson 
and  Foster  Olson.  Bolstad,  Buttelson  and  Severson  were  the 
first  to  record  in  the  land  office  the  land  they  had  purchased, — 
May  5,  1840.    Vindeg  was  the  first  to  build  a  house. 

Most  of  the  settlers  in  Koshkonong  have  hailed  from  southern 
and  southwestern  Norway — from  Telemarken,  Numedal,  Sta- 
vanger,  Hardanger  and  Sogn.  Few  settlements  have  been  more 
prosperous.  Perhaps  no  other  settlement  has  turned  out  so  many 
eminent  men.  Here  at  Koshkonong  lived  Rev.  Johannes  W.  C. 
Dietrichson,  the  first  preacher  ordained  in  Norway,  who  came 
here  to  serve  his  countrymen  as  pastor.  He  came  in  1844,  or- 
ganized ten  congregations,  returned  to  Norway  in  1845  to  get 
more  help,  then  came  back  to  Koshkonong,  1846-1850.  In  1846 
he  wrote  a  book  about  his  experiences  in  America.  His  succes- 
sors in  the  pastorate,  A.  C.  Preus,  1850-1860,  and  J.  A.  Ottesen, 
1860-1885,  were  learned,  stalwart,  zealous  men,  who  left  a  deep 
impress  on  that  neighborhood.  East  Koshkonong  Church,  though 
the  third  church  edifice  to  be  built,  was  the  first  one  to  be  dedicated 
by  Norwegian- Americans.  In  this  church  the  Norwegian  Synod 
was  organized  Feb.  5,  1853,  by  seven  pastors  and  forty-five  dele- 
gates, representing  thirty-eight  congregations — thirty-one  in  Wis- 
consin, three  in  Illinois,  and  four  in  Iowa. 

Among  the  famous  sons  of  Old  Koshkonong  (Kaskeland,  the 
pioneers  called  it)  may  be  mentioned  the  following  77 : 

R.  B.  Anderson,  U.  S.  minister  to  Denmark. 


The  Norwegian  Period  169 

Lars  S.  Reque,  U.  S.  Consul  General,  Holland,  and  Lutheran 
professor. 

Andrew  E.  Lee  and  Charles  N.  Herreid,  governors  of  South 
Dakota. 

Knute  Nelson,  U.  S.  Senator  from  Minnesota. 

Halvor  Steenerson,  congressman  from  Minnesota. 

John  Mandt  Nelson,  congressman  from  Wisconsin. 

Fred  P.  Brown,  secretary  of  state,  Minnesota. 

John  L.  Erdall,  insurance  commissioner,  Wisconsin. 

Canute  R.  Matson,  sheriff  in  Chicago. 

N.  O.  Falk,  J.  J.  Holman,  L.  L.  Hulsather,  Christopher  Jerdee, 
N.  A.  Ladd,  William  Nelson,  lawyers. 

J.  L.  Johnson,  judge. 

N.  C.  Amundson,  Andreas  Holo,  G.  M.  Johnson,  Albert  Kittle- 
son,  G.  M.  J.  Lee,  Alfred  B.  Olson,  and  K.  M.  O.  Teigen,  phy- 
sicians. 

J.  A.  Johnson,  T.  G.  Mandt  and  N.  O.  Stark,  inventors  and 
manufacturers. 

Knute  Reindahl,  violin  maker. 

Edwin  Drotning  and  Levi  Kittelson,  tobacco  commission 
merchants. 

Erik  S.  Gjellum,  Knud  Henderson,  Peter  Hendrickson,  Nels 
Holman,  Per  Ro'the,  Aslak  Teisberg  and  A.  A.  Trovaten,  authors 
and  editors. 

J.  J.  Anderson,  Knute  E.  Bergh,  Ole  G.  Felland,  Jacob  D. 
Jacobsen,  C.  A.  Naeseth  and  E.  J.  Onstad,  professors  in  Luther- 
an colleges. 

Andrew  O.  Johnson,  Adventist  professor. 

J.  T.  Flom,  professor  at  University  of  Illinois. 

J.  E.  Olson,  professor  at  University  of  Wisconsin. 

Henry  Johnson,  Albert  Olson,  Andrew  Olson,  Edvard  Olson, 
Martin  Olson  and  Ole  A.  Olson,  Adventist  pastors. 

Bendix  Ingebretson  and  J.  H.  Johnson,  Methodist  pastors. 

A.  O.  Aasen,  Abel  Anderson,  N.  B.  Berge,  Knut  Bjo'rgo, 
G.  M.  Erdall,  N.  A.  Giere,  N.  O.  Giere,  H.  B.  Hustvedt,  O.  O. 
Klevjord,  G.  A.  Larsen,  A.  J.  Lee,  G.  T.  Lee,  O.  T.  Lee,  A.  E. 
Lien,  Olaf  Mandt,  O.  A.  Normann,  Otto  Ottesen,  N.  A.  Quam- 
men,  Peter  S.  Reque,  S.  S.  Reque,  A.  K.  Sagen,  T.  K.  Thorvil- 
son  and  Ole  K.  Vangsnes,  Lutheran  pastors. 

For  about  thirty  years,  1845-1875,  Wisconsin  was  the  great- 
est Norwegian  state  in  America.  Then  Minnesota  took  the  lead 
and  has  kept  it  ever  since.  The  number  of  foreign-born  Nor- 
wegians in  Wisconsin  in  1850  was  8,651;  in  1860,  21,442;  in 
1870,40,046;  in  1880,  49,349 ;  in  1890,  65,696 ;  in  1900,  61,575  ; 
in  1910,  57,000;    in  1920,  45,453. 


170 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Father  Marquette  and  Joliet  visited  Iowa  in  1673  and  claimed 
it  for  France.     In  1763  it  was  ceded  to  Spain;     in  1803  it  was 
ceded    back  to  France  and  then    sold  to  the 
Iowa,  1840  United  States  as  a  part  of  Louisiana.     It  be- 

came a  territory  in  1838;  a  state  in  1846.  The 
"Iowa  State  Song"  says  about  Iowa :  "Best  in  all  the  land, 
Here's  where  the  tall  corn  grows."  Hon.  O.  M.  Oleson,  the 
enterprising  merchant,  philanthropist  and  song  veteran,  of  Fort 
Dodge,  la.,  has  written  an  Iowa  song,  entitled,  "Come  to  Iowa." 
Iowa  is  well-watered,  has  rich  soil  and  a  healthy  climate.  Al- 
most every  foot  of  it  is  tillable,  and  in  1919  the  value  of  its 
crops  was  nearly  one  billion  dollars,  only  surpassed  by  one  other 
state,  Texas,  which  has  nearly  five  times  the  area  of  Iowa.     The 

railroads  of  Iowa 
now  make  her  map 
look  like  a  piece  of 
intricate  lace-work, 
but  in  1840  there 
was,  of  course,  not 
even  a  thought  of 
building  railroads 
in  this  vast  wilder- 
ness, designated  in 
the  old  geographies 
as  a  part  of  the 
"G  r  e  a  t  American 
Primitive  Plowing  Desert." 


fa)   Sugar  Creek 

The  first  settlement  was  at  Sugar  Creek,  Lee  County,  eight 
miles  west  of  Keokuk.  Cleng  Peerson  had  explored  it.  Hans 
Barlien  was  the  first  settler.  His  colony  was  fed  by  migrations 
from  La  Salle  County,  111.,  Shelby  County,  Mo.,  and  more  recent 
immigrations.  In  1843,  according  to  Reierson's  "Veiviser,"  the 
settlement  had  between  thirty  and  forty  families,  200  to  300 
souls.  In  1856  the  number  had  dwindled  down  to  56;  in 
1885,  to  31  ;  in  1920  there  were  only  twenty-seven  foreign-born 
Norwegians  in  that  county.  Flom  gives  as  reasons  why  Sugar 
Creek  did  not  grow  as  did  the  later  settlements  to  the  north  and 
west,  that  the  land  in  Sugar  Creek  was  not  of  the  best,  that  the 
tide  of  immigration  was  toward  Wisconsin  and  the  Northwest, 
and  it  was  impossible  to  stem  the  tide,  and  that  Mormons  and 
Quakers  were  very  active  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sugar  Creek, 
and,  finally,  that  the  Norwegians  at  Sugar  Creek  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  secure  title  to  the  land  upon  which  they  had  settled. 


172 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


(b)     Fort  Atkinson 

The  second  settlement  in  Iowa  was  made  at  Fort  Atkinson, 
Winneshiek  County,  in  1843.  Fort  Atkinson  was  at  that  time  a 
real  fort.  It  had  been  built  by  the  government  with  a  double 
object  in  view — to  protect  the  white  man  against  the  Indians  and 
to  teach  the  Indian  the  white  man's  method  of  agriculture.  Two 
Norwegians  from  Numedal,  Ole  Halvorson  Valle  and  Ole  Tol- 
lefson  Kittilsland,  hired  out  to  Uncle  Sam  at  $12.00  per  month 
and  arrived  at  the  fort  in  the  early  spring  of  1843  on  skis.  As 
an  Irishman  put  it;  ''The  two  first  white  men  in  Winneshiek 
County  were  two  Norwegians,  who  came  clear  from  the  Old 
Country  on  a  pair  of  snow  shoes."     In  1846  Valle  quit  his  posi- 


4** 


m 


Rev.  U.  V.  Koren 


Mrs.  U.  V.  Koren 


Koren  Parsonage,  1853,  Washington  Prairie,  Iowa 

(See    Mrs.    Koren's    "Fra    Pioner    Tiden,"    being    selections    from    her    diary) 


tion  and  was  replaced  by  his  cousin,  Sp'ren  Olson  So'rum  from 
S.  Land,  Norway.  In  1847,  Valle  obtained  employment  at  the 
fort  for  another  cousin,  Miss  Ingeborg  Nilsen.  The  next  year, 
1848,  the  government  decided  to  remove  the  Indians  to  Long 
Prairie,  Todd  County,  Minn.,  and  the  Norwegians  of  Fort  At- 
kinson followed  their  Indian  charges  into  Minnesota.  Sjzfren 
Olson  and  Ingeborg  Nilsen  became  man  and  wife  in  1850. 


(c)  Clayton  County 

Meanwhile,  in  1846,  Valle  had  made  his  home  in  Clayton 
County  on  a  farm  three  miles  southeast  of  the  present  village  of 
St.  Olaf.  There  his  first  child  was  born,  Sept.  20,  1846 — Jorund 
Halvorson,  now  Mrs.  Lars  Thovson,  St.  Olaf,  la.  She  is  the 
first  Norwegian  child  born  in  northern  Iowa.     St.  Olaf  is  the 


The  Norwegian  Period 


173 


old  home  of  Rev.  Ole  Glesne,  the  author's  good  pastor.     Pastor 
Glesne's  father  staked  his  claim  at  St.  Olaf  in  1850. 

(d)      Westward  Ho 

Once  begun,  the  settlements  in  northern  Iowa  were  made 
in  rapid  succession.  Fayette  was  entered  in  1849 ;  Allamakee 
and  Winneshiek  received  their  fair  share  of  Norwegians  in  1850 
and  every  year  thereafter  for  many  years.  In  1852  the  pioneer 
line  had  reached  to  Mitchell  County;  in  1853  to  Worth  County; 


A  Sod  Church  at  Hemingford,  Box  Butte  Co.,  Neb.,  1903.     Student  (now 
Pastor)  T.  A.  Johnson  and  His  Parochial  School. 

in  1854,  to  Story  County;  in  1855  to  Hamilton  County;  and 
in  1860,  as  far  as  Woodbury  County,  on  the  Nebraska-Dakota 
boundaries.  Another  line  of  march  approached  Iowa  at  the  cen- 
ter, entering  Clinton  in  1853.  This  line  had  gotten  to  Benton 
and  Iowa  counties  in  1854,  but  for  lack  of  reinforcements  did 
not  push  on  farther  west.  Norway  in  Benton  County,  is  the  home 
of  some  of  the  Rosdails,  Sloopers. 

(e)      Decorah 

The  Norwegians  have  always  been  numerically  strong  in 
northern  Iowa,  ever  since  they  discovered  it.  Their  influence 
has  no  doubt  been  far  out  of  proportion  to  their  numerical 
strength,    This  is  due  in  large  measure  to  the  personal  influence 


174  Norwegian  People  in  America 

of  the  great  church  leaders  who  lived  in  Iowa,  for  example,  U.  V. 
Koren,  Laur.  Larsen  and  C.  K.  Preus ;  also  to  the  work  of 
Luther  College,  founded  in  1861,  probably  so  far  the  most  in- 
fluential school  that  the  Norwegians  have  had ;  also  to  the  high 
character  of  its  Norwegian  press,  as,  "Decorah  Posten,"  founded 
in  1874,  the  largest  Norwegian  newspaper  in  the  world. 
They  tell  almost  as  many  good  stories  about  this  paper  as  they 
do  about  the  Ford  auto.  Here  is  one  just  off  the  bat.  Dr.  Otto 
O.  Svebakken  had  been  out  in  the  country  on  a  sick  call.  An 
old  Norwegian  woman  was  dying.  Nothing  could  save  her.  Dr. 
Svebakken  is  a  pious  man  and  as  concerned  about  the  soul's 
welfare  as  a  preacher  is.  He  inquired  about  her  religious  state. 
He  chanced  to  ask  if  she  had  been  a  "reader,"  meaning  Bible 
reader,  as  Norwegians  call  the  converted.  "Jan.  me  har  lest 
'Decorah  Posten.'  '  Yes,  she  had  read  "Decorah  Posten." 
Decorah,  the  Norwegian  capital  of  Iowa,  is  a  beautiful  little  city 
of  about  4,000  people,  but  that  its  fame  far  exceeds  its  size  can  be 
seen  from  this  true  story :  An  intelligent  Norwegian  lady  in 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  remarked  that  she  had  heard  so  much  about 
Decorah.  She  wondered  how  large  it  really  was.  "How  large 
do  you  suppose?"  "It  is  not  as  large  as  New  York,  is  it?"  she 
innocently  guessed.  In  "Decorah  Posten"  for  April  14,  1925,  is 
an  account  of  Professor  C.  A.  Tingelstad's  recent  visit  to  the 
little,  ancient  town  of  Southport,  Connecticut.  He  wanted  to  see 
the  Pequot  Library.  The  librarian  said:  "Where  are  you  from?" 
"From  Decorah."  The  librarian  smiled :  "Ah,  that's  where  the 
gladioli  came  from."  Editor  Prestgard  and  Dr.  Hoegh  have  some 
of  the  finest  gladioli  in  the  world  and  number  among  their  patrons 
even  the  great  wizard  Luther  Burbank  himself. 

In  1850  Iowa  had  361  foreign-born  Norwegians ;  in  1860, 
5,678;  in  1870,  17,554;  in  1880,  21,583;  in  1890,  27,078; 
in  1900,  25,634;     in  1910,  21,924;  and  in  1920,  17,344. 

Texas  was  founded  by  the  Spaniards.  After  the  United 
States  bought  Louisiana,  it  became  a  great  question  as  to  where 

that  territory  ended  on  the  west.  Spain 
Texas,  1843  claimed  the  Sabine  as  the  boundary  line ;  the 

United  States  claimed  the  Rio  Grande.  Texas 
thus  became  a  No  Man's  Land  made  almost  a  desert  by  revolu- 
tionary forays  from  both  sides.  Mexico  began  the  policy  of  in- 
viting American  immigrants ;  by  1830  about  20,000  hardy 
American  adventurers  had  pitched  their  tents  on  Texan  soil. 
This  led  to  a  demand  for  statehood  for  Texas,  among  the  Mexi- 
can commonwealths.  Gen.  Austin,  the  spokesman,  was  thrown 
into  prison  for  his  presumption,  and  civil  war  ensued.  Texas 
declared  itself  free,  hence  it  is  called  the  Lone  Star  State.     After 


The  Norwegian  Period  175 

ten  years  of  national  life  Texas  joined  the  American  Republic 
(in  1845).  With  the  annexation  of  Texas  the  United  States 
succeeded  to  a  quarrel  with  Mexico,  which  was  settled  in  favor 
of  the  United  States  by  the  Mexican  War  (1846-1848). 

Johan  Nordboe  came  to  Dallas,  Tex.,  in  1838.  He  was  the 
first  Norwegian  from  Gudbrandsdalen,  the  first  Norwegian  in 
Texas  and  one  of  the  first  Norwegian  doctors  in  America.  Nord- 
boe did  not  found  a  settlement  in  Texas. 

(a)      Henderson   County 

The  first  one  to  do  that  was  Johan  Reinert  Reierson  who 
left  Norway  in  1843  by  way  of  Havre  for  New  Orleans.  From 
New  Orleans  he  proceeded  north  to  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  and 
then  down  to  Texas.  There  he  had  gone  to  Austin,  the  capital, 
and  had  been  presented  to  the  governor,  who  was  anxious  to 
get  Norwegians  to  occupy  the  Texan  prairies.  He  returned 
to  Norway,  published  in  1843  his  famous  book,  "Veiviseren," 
rounded  up  his  family  and  a  few  others,  and  set  sail  again  for 
America.  He  located  in  Henderson  County  and  called  the  colony 
Normandy,  but  it  was  later  changed  to  Brownsboro.  He  died  at 
Prairieville,  Tex.,  Sept.  6.,  1864,  but  his  widow  was  still  living 
there  in  1895.  One  of  his  sons  was  then  a  hotel  keeper  at  Kauf- 
man, Tex. ;    another  son  was  a  bank  cashier  at  Key  West,  Fla. 

(b)     Kaufman   County 

Prairieville,  founded  in  1847  by  Reierson,  is  the  second  Nor- 
wegian settlement  in  Texas.  It  was  known  also  as  Four  Mile 
Prairie.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  Norwegians  in  Texas  was 
Mrs.  Elise  Wa^renskjold.  She  came  to  Four  Mile  Prairie  in 
1847  as  Mrs.  Foyen,  then  married  Waerenskjold  in  1848  and 
lived  with  him  until  he  was  assassinated  on  account  of  his  anti- 
slavery  views.  She  had  been  an  editor  in  Norway  and  wrote 
many  articles  for  the  Norwegian  press  from  her  far  western 
home.  The}'  give  much  first  hand  reliable  information  about 
pioneer  life.  She  organized  a  temperance  society  in  her  com- 
munity ;  also  a  Lutberan  congregation,  taught  school  and  pre- 
vailed on  her  husband  to  preach  until  a  trained  pastor  could  be 
secured.  Through  her  Rev.  Ellinp-  Eielsen  made  a  missionary 
journey  to  Texas  in  1849  and  Emil  Frederichsen  was  called  as 
minister  of  the  Gospel  at  Four  Mile  Norwegian  Lutheran 
Congregation,  1854-1857. 

(c)      Bosque   County 

The  third  Norwegian  settlement  in  Texas  is  in  Bosque  Coun- 
ty, stretching  from  Clifton  westward  to  Cranfills  Gap,  with  Norse 
as  the  center.  Ole  Canuteson  was  the  founder  of  this  settlement, 
in    1853.     Canuteson    had    gotten    the    America    Fever    in    1S42, 


176  Norwegian  People  in  America 

when  as  a  ten-year  old  boy  he  listened  to  Cleng  Peerson's  stories 
about  America.  In  1850  his  parents  resolved  to  go.  They 
reached  New  York,  Buffalo  and  Chicago,  but  on  the  way  to 
Ottawa  on  a  canal  boat  his  good  mother  died  of  the  cholera. 
Cleng  Peerson  was  at  La  Salle,  just  back  from  Texas  and  full 
of  its  praises.  So  the  Canutesons  and  some  others  followed 
Cleng  to  Texas.  They  bought  land  at  fifty  cents  an  acre. 
In  1852  the  Texas  Legislature  resolved  to  give  land  to  actual 
settlers.  Ole  Canuteson  found  vacant  land  in  1853  in  Bosque 
County,  near  the  Bosque  River,  and  in  that  rich  and  beautiful 
spot  a  Norwegian  settlement  was  then  established  which  flour- 
ishes to  this  day.  Down  there  they  still  speak  the  Norwegian 
language.  They  have  Norwegian  congregations  and  a  Norwe- 
gian college,  Clifton  College,  founded  in  1896,  whose  president  is 
Carl  Tyssen,  A.  M.  Cleng  Peerson  lies  buried  there — at  Norse. 
T.  T.  Colwick  is  the  postmaster  at  Norse;  J.  K.  Rystad,  the 
Lutheran  pastor. 

The  Norwegian  foreign-born  population  of  Texas  has  never 
been  very  large.  According  to  the  census,  there  were  no  Nor- 
wegians there  in  1850.  There  must  have  been  nearly  75  in  1850. 
In  1860  the  census  reports  326  born  in  Norway ;  in  1870,  403 ; 
in  1880,  880;  in  1890,  1,313;  in  1900,  1,356;  in  1910,  1,785; 
in  1920,  1,740. 

Utah  is  the  Holy  Land  of  the  Mormons.  In  the  spring  of 
1847,  after  their  expulsion  from  Nauvoo,  111.,  12,000  Mormons 

lay  in  camp  on  the  site  of  Council  Bluffs,  la. 
Utah,  1847  Brigham   Young   and     142   picked   men   then 

marched  westward  to  spy  out  a  home  beyond 
the  power  of  the  United  States.  They  came  to  Salt  Lake  and 
dedicated  it  to  the  Lord.  July  4,  1847,  1,653  persons  and  580 
wagons  started  on  the  long  trek  from  Iowa  to  Utah.  Thos.  Ros- 
dail  was  a  Mormon.  He  and  wife  started  in  1851  to  walk  from 
Norway,  111.,  to  Salt  Lake,  each  one  lugging  a  child.  They  trudged 
along  with  their  dear  burdens  as  far  as  the  Mississippi.  There 
they  lost  courage  and  returned  to  La  Salle. 

There  were  Norwegians  in  that  band  of  religious  enthusi- 
asts. A  number  of  the  La  Salle  county  Norwegians  had  become 
Mormons.  Canute  Peterson  Marsett  had  become  a  Mormon 
bishop.  He  was  sent  as  a  missionary  to  Norway  in  1852  and 
came  back  in  1856  with  600  Scandinavian  immigrants  bound  for 
Salt  Lake  City.  Ole  Heier  had  been  made  a  bishop,  but  withdrew 
when  the  Mormons  in  1843  proclaimed  polygamy  legal,  and 
joined  the  Close  Communion  Baptists.  Dr.  Gudmund  Haugaas, 
the  Slooper,  became  a  high  priest  of  the  Order  of  Melchizedek 
and  was  a  Mormon  preacher  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1849. 
His    son  Thomas  became  his    successor  as  Mormon    pastor  in 


The  Norwegian  Period  111 

La  Salle.  The  congregation  there  still  exists.  A.  H.  Lund  was 
made  an  apostle;  In  the  Sugar  Creek  Colony  most  of  the  Nor- 
wegians became  Mormons.  So,  from  the  very  start  in  Utah, 
there  have  been  Norwegian  Mormons.  Prof.  "John  Andreas 
Widtsp'e,  Ph.  D.,  president  of  the  University  of  Utah,  1916-1921, 
one  of  the  greatest  experts  on  dry-farming,  is  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  Twelve  Apostles  of  the  Latter  Day  Saints. 

The  first  census  for  Utah,  1870,  gives  613  foreign-born  Nor- 
wegians; in  1880,  1,214;  in  1890,  1,854;  in  1900,  2,128;  in  1910, 
2,305;  in  1920,  2,109. 

Michigan  (Chippewa  Indian  name  for  Great  Lake)  was  ex- 
plored by  French  Jesuits  as  early  as  1641.  It  was  taken  from 
the  French  in  1763  and  Detroit  was  made  the 
Michigan,  1848  capital    of   England's   Northwest    Territories. 

England  did  not  evacuate  Detroit  until  1796. 
Michigan  became  a  territory  in  1805  and  a  state  in  1835.  Its 
people  are  engaged  in  farming,  lumbering,  mining,  shipping  and 
the  manufacture  of  furniture,  autos,  breakfast  foods  and  health 
cures. 

The  first  Norwegian  to  settle  in  Michigan  was  Ingebret  Lar- 
son Narvig,  already  mentioned  as  having  been  Cleng  Peerson's 
traveling  companion  to  the  West  in  1833.  On  the  way  to  Illinois 
he  went  to  work  for  a  farmer  six  miles  north  of  Erie,  Monroe 
County,  Mich.,  where  he  married.  About  two  years  later  he 
moved  into  the  neighborhood  of  Adrian,  Lanawee  County,  and 
there  he  dwelt  until  1856. 

According  to  Martin  Ulvestad,  in  his  "Nordmaendene  i  Amer- 
ika,"  the  first  permanent  Norwegian  settlement  in  Michigan  was 
at  Muskegon  in  1848.  0sten  Andersen  of  Ulefos,  Telemarken, 
and  Lars  Larson  of  Arendal,  were  the  first  settlers.  In  1851 
Oliver  Thompson,  another  Telemarken  emigrant,  settled  down 
near  Onekoma,  Manistee  County.  In  1856  a  third  settlement  was 
started  at  Shelby,  Oceana  County,  by  the  arrival  of  Hendrik 
Hendriksen  of  Fossum,  Bratsberg. 

The  Norwegian  settlements  in  Michigan  are  small  and  scat- 
tered. In  1850  there  were  110  foreign-born  Norwegians  in  the 
state;  in  1860,  440;  in  1870,  1,516;  in  1880,  3,520;  in  1890, 
7,795;    in  1900,  7,582;    in  1910,  7,638;    in  1920,    6,888. 

California  was  discovered  by  the  Spanish  officer  Mendoza  in 
1542  and  by  the  Englishman  Drake  in  1590.     It  became  a  Mexi- 
can territory  in  1824.     During  our  war  with 
California,  1849  Mexico,    1846-1848,  it  became  the  possession 

of  the  United  States.  On  Jan.  24,  1848,  a 
piece  of  native  gold  was  found  by  Marshall  at  Coloma,  Eldorado 
County.    The  news  electrified  the  world.    By  the  close  of  that 


178  Norwegian  People  in  America 

year  miners  assailed  the  foothills  from  the  Tuolumne  to  the 
Feather  River.  They  came  from  everywhere,  adventurers  and 
outlaws,  good  men  and  bad,  and  wild  speculation,  gambling,  rob- 
bery, murder,  and  every  other  crime  was  openly  committed,  un- 
hindered by  other  form  of  law  higher  than  lynch  law  and  self 
defense.  In  1849,  100,000  men  crossed  the  American  continent 
to  search  for  gold.  In  1850,  when  California  became  a  state,  its 
registered  population  was  only  92,597. 

The  Norwegians  were  among  the  first  to  set  out  for  the  gold 
fields.  Elias  Tasted  Larson,  oldest  son  of  Lars  Larson,  Slooper, 
went  there  in  1849  and  came  back  alive  to  tell  the  story.  "Snow- 
shoe"  Thompson  was  the  first  mail  carrier  across  the  Sierras,  a 
most  hazardous  position,  which  he  faithfully  held  from  1856  to 
1876.  In  1860  there  were  no  less  than  715  Norwegians  born  in 
Norway  recorded  as  citizens  of  the  state.  There  were  probably  that 
many  in  1850  trying  to  pick  up  a  fortune.  There  is  a  letter  in 
the  "Bratsberg  Amtstidende"  from  Christian  Holer,  dated  Nevada 
City,  Cal.,  Nov.  25,  1850.  He  had  just  crossed  the  desert — a 
frightful  ordeal.  He  had  met  Norwegians  at  Salt  Lake  City, 
members  of  the  Mormon  Church — an  outlawed  sect.  He  had  begun 
to  dig — no  sweet  task. 

California,  with  its  unusually  varied  and  rich  natural  re- 
sources, scenery  and  climate,  had  always  attracted  Norwegians. 
But,  strange  to  say,  it  has  never  developed  any  large  and  prom- 
inent Norwegian  colonies.  The  Norwegians  of  California  are 
widely  distributed.  The  census  of  foreign-born  Norwegians  is  as 
follows  :     1850— no  report ;     1860—715  ;     1870—1,000 ;     1880— 

1,765;     1890—3,702;     1900— 5,060;    1910 9,952 ;  and  1920— 

11,460. 

Minnesota   (Indian  name,  meaning   Sky-tinted  Water)    is  the 
chief   Norwegian  state  in  America.     It  was  originally  the  home 
of    the   Chippewas   and   the   Sioux,   or   Dako- 
Minnesota,  1850  tas.      The    French    fur-traders    and    mission- 

aries began  to  come  here  in  1659.  Duluth  es- 
tablished trading  posts  in  1678.  Hennepin  ascended  the  Missis- 
sippi in  1680.  In  1803  Minnesota  became  the  property  of  the 
United  States.  It  was  made  a  territory  in  1849;  a  state,  in  1858. 
The  first  number  of  "Nordlyset,"  July  17,  1847,  discusses  the 
advisability  of  its  being  made  a  territory.  "Nordlyset"  was  the 
first   Norwegian  newspaper,  right  up-to-date  in  its  contents. 

Mention  has  alreadv  been  made  of  the  fact  that  four  Norwe- 
gians came  to  Todd  County  in  1848.  Rev.  C.  L.  Clausen  came 
pretty  near  becoming  a  citizen  of  Minnesota  in  1849.  He  was 
out  on  an  exploring  expedition,  hunting  for  a  new  site  for  a  Nor- 
wegian settlement.  St.  Paul  was  then  a  village  only  eleven 
years  old  and   consisted  of  only  thirty  huts.      Clausen   took  the 


The  Norwegian  Period 


179 


first  steam  boat  that  ever  went  as  far  north  as  St.  Paul.  The 
territory  of  Minnesota  had  just  been  created  by  Congress  and 
St.  Paul  was  its  capital  city.  The  boat  brought  the  good  news, 
which  was  received  with  wild  acclaim.  Clausen  was  not  much 
impressed  with  the  hills  of  St.  Paul  as  a  prospective  settlement. 
So  he  proceeded  on  to  the  Minneapolis  side.  There  was  no  town 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  not  a  house.  On  the  east  side  lay 
the  little  village  of  St. 
Anthony,  now  a  part  of 
Minneapolis.  Clausen 
might  have  preempted 
Minneapolis,  but  did  not 
do  so,  for  the  Minne- 
apolis plain  was  too  small 
and  too  sandy  for  the 
settlement  he  had  in 
mind.  An  Indian  told 
him  about  land  some  ten 
miles  to  the  east  of  St. 
Paul.  Thither  he  went 
and  found  what  he  want- 
ed in  Pierce  County. 
Wisconsin.  Thus,  writes 
Holand.  Clausen  barely 
escaped  becoming  the 
founder  of  one  of  the 
world's  large  metro- 
polises. 

Minneapolis    is    now 
the    capital    city    of    the 

Norwegian      country     in   The   Knitter  of   the  Johnson    Self   Binder, 
America.  the  First  Twine  Binder  in  the  World 


(a)     St.  Paid  and  Minneapolis 

The  second  governor  of  Minnesota  was  Alexander  Ramsey. 
He  had  a  Norwegian  servant  girl,  Ingeborg  Levorsen  Lange- 
teig,  who,  together  with  her  brother  Amund,  came  to  St.  Paul 
in  1850.  They  were  from  Hallingdal  and  had  stopped  off  at 
Rock  County,  Wisconsin,  for  a  season.  Ingeborg  Langeteig 
worked  for  Governor  Ramsey  one  year,  then  moved  to  Fridley, 
just  north  of  St.  Anthony.  In  1854  she  married  an  Irishman 
by  the  name  of  Clark.  After  his  death,  in  1864,  she  married 
Mikkel  Johnson,  from  Selbu,  Norway,  and  settled  down  in 
North  Minneapolis,  where  he  reigned  as  a  patriarch  for  many 
years.  He  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Meeker  County,  Minn., 
in  1856.    His  younger  brother,  John  P.  Johnson  (Moen),  a  brave 


180  Norwegian  People  in  America 

soldier  in  the  Civil  War,  became  the  inventor  of  the  first  self 
binder  in  the  world. 

(b)      Goodhue  County 

In  1850  a  number  of  Norwegians  from  Rock  Prairie,  Wis., 
set  out  for  St.  Paul.  There  were  two  men  who  stepped  off  at  a 
steamboat  landing  place  before  reaching  St.  Paul  and,  finding  the 


Self  Binders  at  Work  Using  J.  P.  Johnson's  Idea 

spot  to  their  taste,  settled  there.  They  were  Halvor  H.  Peterson 
(Haugen)  and  0sten  Burtness,  both  from  Numedal,  and  the  place 
they  selected  as  their  home  was  Red  Wing,  Goodhue  County,  where 
they  started  to  manufacture  and  ship  charcoal.  In  1852  Goodhue 
County  was  opened  for  settlement.  Strange  enough,  the  general 
opinion  was,  that  it  would  take  100  years  to  settle  the  whole 
county.  It  did  not  take  ten  years.  In  1851  Matthias  Peterson 
Ringdahl  located  also  at  Red  Wing,  which  then  boasted  three  or 
four  houses.  In  1854  the  immigration  caravans  began  to  come 
in,  one  after  the  other,  hardy  Norsemen  from  Koshkonong,  Rock 
County,  and  elsewhere.  The  first  lot  to  arrive  consisted  of 
Henrik  Nelson  Talla  and  his  brother  To'ge  and  four  other  fam- 
ilies. Henrik  Talla  had  been  a  gold  miner  in  California.  To'ge 
had  found  gold  in  Australia.  A  son-in-law  of  Henrik  Talla  was 
the  well  known  Hon.  Osmund  Wing,  a  noble  and  philanthropic 


The  Norwegian  Period  181 

soul.  A  son-in-law  of  Osmund  Wing  is  the  professor  of  church 
history  at  Luther  Theological  Seminary,  St.  Paul,  Rev.  Carl  M. 
Weswig,  D.  D.,  famed  for  eloquence.  To'ge  Talla  bore  witness 
to  the  charms  of  Goodhue  County  in  these  words :  "I  have  lived 
in  three-  continents  and  have  traveled  through  many  lands,  but 
never  have  I  seen  such  a  beautiful  sight  as  this.  Here  will  I  live 
and  here  will  I  die." 

Hardly  had  the  first  caravan  settled  down  when  a  second  one 
came  into  sight.  This  one  consisted  of  Andreas  Bonhus,  Erik 
Gunhus,  and  about  ten  other  families.  Andrew  G.  Bonhus,  a 
grandson  of  Andreas  Bonhus,  is  a  St.  Olaf  graduate,  a  law  gradu- 
ate from  the  University  of  Minnesota  and  has  served  as  mayor 
of  Valley  City,  N.  D.,  1920-1924.  Andrew's  sister,  Louise,  mar- 
ried one  O.  M.  Norlie,  at  the  time  of  the  nuptials  a  high  school 
instructor  at  Stoughton,  Wis.  A  grandson  of  Erik  Gunhus  is  a 
man  bearing  the  same  name,  Rev.  Erik  H.  Gunhus,  president  of 
the  Lutheran  Brethren  Synod.  No  doubt  the  greatest  man  who 
has  lived  and  labored  in  Goodhue  was  the  Rev.  Bernt  J.  Muus, 
pastor  at  Holden  from  1859  to  1899.  He  is  buried  near  the 
Trondhjem  Cathedral,  Norway,  and  a  little  wooden  cross  marks 
his  grave  telling  the  story  that  here  lies  B.J.  Muus,  1832-1900. 
Some  day  a  more  fitting  monument  will  mark  the  resting  place 
of  this  tall  and  noble  son  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  a  pioneer 
among  the  pioneers  of  America.  Meanwhile  St.  Olaf  College 
rears  up  high  and  pleasant  to  behold  as  one  of  the  memorials  to 
his  faith. 

(c)     Southern  Minnesota 

In  Southern  Minnesota,  too,  large  and  thrifty  Norwegian 
settlements  were  made  in  the  early  fifties.  Fillmore  County  was 
entered  in  1851.  Even  Ellertson  started  farming  that  year  near 
Mabel  and  is  the  first  Norwegian  farmer  in  the  state.  Carver 
and  Winona  counties  received  Norwegian  settlers  in  1852;  Da- 
kota, Houston  and  Nicollet  counties  in  1853;  Dodge,  Olmsted, 
Steele  and  Mower  counties  in  1854 ;  and  so  on.  Minne- 
sota land  had  been  discovered,  dearer  to  the  hearts  of  Norwe- 
gians than  the  gold  of  California. 

According  to  the  census,  the  number  of  foreign-born  Norwe- 
gians in  Minnesota  in  1850  was  7;  in  1860,  8,425;  in  1870, 
35,940;  in  1880,  62,521;  in  1890,  101,169;  in  1900,  104,895; 
in  1910,  105,303;    and  in  1920,  90,188. 

Swedish  ships  entered  the  Delaware  in  1638  and  the  first 
towns   founded  in   Pennsylvania  were   Swedish.     The  land  was 

then  called  New  Sweden.  Its  progress  alarmed 
Pennsylvania,  1852   the  Dutch  in  New  York,  who  swooped  down  on 

the  Swedes  in  1655  and  made  captives  of  them. 
Nine  years   later  the  Dutch  had    to  surrender  to   the    English. 


182 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Pennsylvania  was  given  to  William  Penn  to  cancel  a  debt.  In 
1682  he  came  to  his  principality.  Pennsylvania  was  one  of  the 
original  thirteen  states.  In  the  colonial  days  it  was  the  haven  of 
German  refugees  and  is  still  the  most  German  of  the  American 
commonwealths. 

The  first  Norwegian  settlement  in  this  state  was  that  in 
Potter  County,  in  1852.  Potter  County  lies  in  north  central 
Pennsylvania,  among  the  foothills  of  the  Alleghanies,  a  wild  and 
romantic  country,  "far  from  the  maddening  crowd's  ignoble 
strife."  This  settlement  was  conceived  and  projected  by  Ole 
Bull,  the  master  violinist.  In  his  first  concert  trip  to  America, 
1843-1845,  he  had  studied  with  sympathetic  interest  the  toil  and 
troubles  of  the  early  pioneers.  The  thought  came  to  him  that  he 
could  find  a  better  spot  to  live  in  than  he  had  seen  in  Illinois  and 
Wisconsin  and  that  he  himself  could  build  a  colony  which  could 
stand  as  a  monument  to  his  day's  work.  He  got  into  the  hands 
of  some  landsharks  who  sold  him  120,000  acres  of  wild  hill  and 
dale  at  twice  the  market  price.     He  tried  to  raise  the  $300,000.00 

to  pay  for  the  land 
by  giving  "Farewell 
Concerts,"  that  is, 
not  a  farewell  t  o 
America,  but  a  fare- 
well to  his  fiddle. 
His  work  from  now 
on  would  be  to  build 
the  colony.  The  en- 
terprise might  have 
succeeded  except  for 
the  fact  that  the 
deeds  that  he  and  his 
settlers  received  for 
their  money  were  not 
worth  five  cents.  The 
whole  transaction 
was  a  swindle.  The  immigration  was  encouraging.  Within  a 
short  time  he  had  1.000  Norwegians  in  his  New  Norway  and 
several  towns  were  established — Oleana,  Odin  and  New  Bergen. 

A  Coudersport  paper,  "The  People's  Journal,"  has  an  edi- 
torial dated  Sept.  10,  1852,  entitled  "Good  News  for  Potter 
County."  This  announces  the  coming  of  Ole  Bull  and  the  Nor- 
wegians. It  relates  that  105  are  on  the  way  to  the  proposed 
colony  at  Kettle  Creek  (now  Oleana),  and  adds:  "Let  them 
come.  The  more,  the  better."  This  paper  contained  poems  to 
the  colonists,  of  which  the  following  lines  are  a  sample : 


Ole  Bull  (insert)  and  Ole  Bull's  Castle  (1852) 

(By    permission    of    Pa.    Dept.    of   Forest   and    Waters) 


The  Norwegian  Period 


183 


Lo  !    Forest  and  valley  and  mountain  lie  spread 

Untouched  save  by  sunlight  and  wandering  breeze, 

Awaiting  to  welcome  the  Northmen's   free  tread 

To  their  echoing  slopes  and  their  shadowing  trees. 

To  make  a  long  story  short,  the  project  failed.  The  settlers 
could  not  get  their  warranty  deeds  and  began  to  pull  out.  Ole 
Bull  hastened  away  to  raise  money  by  his  concerts,  from  the 
proceeds  of  which  he  sent  load  after  load  of  provisions  to  his 
people  to  meet  their  needs.     The  latest   survivor  of   the   colony 


Autos  Visiting  Ole  Bull's  Castle  in   1924 

(By   permission    of   Pennsylvania    Department    of   Forest    and    Waters) 

who  remained  there  as  long  as  he  lived  was  Ole  Olsen,  who  died 
at  New  Bergen  in  1903.  fifty  years  after  the  hopes  of  the  colo- 
nists were  shattered. 

In  "Oleana,"  a  very  interesting  work  on  the  Ole  Bull  Col- 
ony, by  Thorstein  Jahr,  a  library  expert  at  the  Library  of 
Congress,  the  story  of  the  colony  is  related  and  a  number  of  sur- 
vivors are  located.     As,  for  example  : 

John  X.  Holfeldt  established  the  firm  Holfeldt  and 
McDonald,  Quebec,  1853-1863,  and  then  a  shipping  business  at 
Stavanger,  1863-1873.  Bertel  V.  Suckow  became  a  bookbinder 
at  Rock  Prairie,  Wis.,  1854,  the  publisher  of  "Billed  Magasin," 
Madison,  1868-1870  (Prof.  Svein  Xilssen,  editor),  and  finally 
he  worked  for  the  "Milwaukee  Sentinel,"  until  1885.  Christian 
F.  Solberg  became  editor  of  "Emigranten,"  1857-1868.  studied 
law,  was  postmaster  in  the  Wisconsin  Legislature,  1869-1871, 
edited  "Minnesota,"  1872,  was  appointed  commissioner  of  statis- 
tics, 1872-1876,  railroad  commissioner,  1876-1881,  was  with  the 
Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railroad,  1881-1883,  with  the 
New  York  Life  until  his  death.  A  daughter  of  Jens  Jacobsen,  of 
Oleana,  became  the  wife  of  Charles  Kittleson,  state  treasurer  of 
Minnesota,  1879-1883,  and  president  of  Columbia  National  Bank, 


184  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Minneapolis.  Johan  S.  Irgens  was  a  soldier  in  the  Fifteenth 
Wisconsin  and  the  first  Norwegian  to  hold  the  office  of  secre- 
tary of  state  in  Minnesota,  1875-1879.  Burt  Olson  was  editor  of 
the  "McKean  County  Miner,"  Pa.,  and  died  in  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  Nov.,  1902.  Ole  Snyder,  the  first  child  born  at  Oleana, 
is  a  lawyer  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  Knud  Olsen  lived  at  Stoughton, 
Wis.  Ole  Teppen  and  Syver  Iversen  were  farmers  at  Coon 
Valley,  Wis. 

The  foreign-born  Norwegians  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  de- 
cennial years  are:  1850—27;  1860—83;  1870—115;  1880— 
381 ;     1890—2,238 ;     1900—1,393 ;     1910—2,320 ;     1920—2,446. 

New  Hampshire  was  founded  by  Englishmen  in  1623  and 
was  one  of  the  original  thirteen  states.  The  state  has  only  one 
real  Norwegian  settlement — at  Berlin  Mills, 
New  Hampshire,  Coos  County.  This  was  founded  in  1854  by 
1854  Johannes    L.    Osvold,   immigrant    from    Oslo, 

Norway.  The  next  to  join  his  colony  were 
Carl  Olson,  Herman  Olsen  and  Nils  Holje.  Osvold  was  post- 
master at  Berlin  Mills  for  many  years.  Osvold,  Even  A. 
Np'ttestad,  Hans  C.  Johnson  and  Anton  L.  Petterson,  all  Nor- 
wegians, have  been  members  of  the  New  Hampshire  State  Legis- 
lature. In  1890  Rev.  G.  T.  Rygh  organized  a  Norwegian  Luth- 
eran Congregation  at  Berlin  Mills  with  87  members.  In  1915 
this  congregation  had  538  members. 

New  Hampshire  has  never  figured  as  a  Norwegian  state.  In 
1850  it  registered  only  two  born  in  Norway;  in  1860,  five;  in 
1870,  55;  in  1880,  79;  in  1890,  251;  in  1900,  295;  in  1910,  491; 
and  in  1920,  427. 

Nebraska  was  a  part  of  French  Louisiana.  It  became  a  ter- 
ritory in  1854;  a  state  in  1867.  The  name  is  an  Indian  word, 
meaning  "Shallow  Water."  There  are  no 
Nebraska,  1857  mountains  in  the  state,  but  wide,  rolling  prai- 

ries, cut  by  slow,  shallow  streams.  Both  the 
valleys  and  the  uplands  provide  rich  soil.  It  is  a  great  farming 
country. 

The  first  Norwegian  settlement  was  at  Lime  Grove,  Dixon 
County,  in  1857.  Mons  Nilson,  from  Vossevangen,  was  the  first 
Norwegian  settler.  In  1920  there  were  foreign-born  Norwegians 
in  88  of  the  93  counties  in  Nebraska,  but  the  settlements  were 
all  small;  Dixon  County  ranked  fifth  in  Norwegian  population. 
It  has  had  four  Norwegian  Lutheran  congregations.  The  first  of 
these  was  the  Lime  Creek  Church,  three  miles  south  of  Maskell, 
organized  September  25,  1873,  with  34  souls,  Rev.  E.  G.  A. 
Christensen,  first  pastor. 

The  Norwegians  of  the  first  generation  located  in  Nebraska 


The  Norwegian  Period  185 

by  census  years  are  as  follows :  1850 — no  report ;  1860 — no  report ; 
1870—506;  1880—2,010;  1890—3,632;  1900—2,833;  1910— 
2,750;  1920—2,165. 

Kansas  is  the  geographical  center  of  the  United  States.  Coro- 
nado  marched  through  Kansas  in  1541  and  says  that  he  traversed 

"mighty  plains  and  sandy  heaths,  smooth  and 
Kansas,  1857  wearisome,  and  bare  of  wood."     In  describing 

the  buffalo  then  roaming  over  the  limitless 
plains,  he  says :  "All  that  way  the  plains  are  as  full  of  crooked- 
backed  oxen  as  the  mountain  Serena  in  Spain  is  full  of  sheep." 
Kansas  became  a  part  of  the  United  States  by  the  Louisiana 
Purchase  in  1803.  It  was  made  a  territory  in  1854  and  a  state 
in  1861.  The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill  of  1854  left  it  to  each  com- 
monwealth to  settle  whether  it  should  be  slave  or  free.     Two 


Hunting  the  Buffalo 

great  hostile  tides  of  immigration  began  to  flow  into  Kansas,  the 
one  Pro-slavery  from  Missouri  and  the  South,  the  other  Free- 
Soilers  from  the  North.  A  terrible  civil  war  ensued,  and  "Bleed- 
ing Kansas"  aroused  the  pity  of  the  world.  John  Brown  was  the 
leader  of  the  Freedom  party,  later  a  martyr  to  the  cause.  "His 
soul  is  marching  on."  The  settlers  of  Kansas  were  some  of  the 
bravest  men  from  the  North  and  South,  met  here  to  fight  for 
a  principle. 

The  hardy  Norseman  was  also  in  Kansas,  and,  though  a  new- 
comer, he  was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight — for  freedom.  Charles 
Christianson,  from  East  Toten,  Nels  Ladd  from  Sogndal,  and 
Mathias  Johnson  from  Biri,  moved  from  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  to 
Greenwood  Co.,  Kans.,  in  1857.  Their  address  was  Eureka;  their 
market,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  was  150  miles  distant.  In  1858  they 
were  joined  by  six  other  countrymen  from  Dane  Co.  In  1870 
Rev.  G.  M.  Erdahl  organized  a  Norwegian  Lutheran  congregation 
for  them.   In  1858  a  second  settlement  was  planted  at  Lancaster, 


186  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Atchison  County,  by  Harold  O.  Tvedt,  a  Yaldris,  coming  down 
from  La  Crosse,  Wis.  Brown  and  Doniphan  Counties  were  peo- 
pled by  Norwegians  about  1860.  In  1920  88  of  the  105  counties 
in  the  state  had  Norwegians  born  in  Norway.  None  of  the  set- 
tlements is  large. 

The  immigrant  Norwegians  in  Kansas  are  listed  by  the  census 
as  follows:  1850— no  report;  1860—223;  1870—588;  1880— 
1,358;    1890—1.786;    1900—1,477;    1910—1,294;    1920—970. 

In  1859  there  were  no  Dakotas.  The  territory  of  Dakota  was 
created  in  1861  out  of  Nebraska  and  Minnesota.  In  1889  Dakota 
Territory  was  made  two  states — South  Dakota 
South  Dakota,  1859  and  North  Dakota.  South  Dakota  is  a  farming- 
state  essentially,  with  gold  and  silver  mining 
in  the  Black  Hills  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  state.  The  seal 
of  the  state  bears  a  river  with  a  steamboat,  and  on  the  right  a 
farmer  at  the  plow,  with  a  herd  of  cattle  and  a  field  of  corn. 
On  the  left  stands  a  smelting  furnace  and  a  range  of  hills.  The 
Norwegians  came  to  South  Dakota  early  in  great  numbers  and 
have  worked  hard  to  make  it  a  good  state.  Four  of  the  nine  gov- 
ernors have  been  Norwegians — A.  E.  Lee.  C.  N.  Herreid,  P. 
Norbeck,  and  Carl  Gunderson ;  3  of  the  lieutenant  governors — 
Herreid,  Norbeck  and  Gunderson;  3  of  the  secretaries  of  state — 
A.  O.  Ringsrud,  Thomas  Thorsen  and  O.  C.  Berg;  1  state  audi- 
tor— H.  B.  Anderson;  2  state  treasurers — George  G.  Johnson  and 
G.  H.  Helgerson;  2  state  superintendents — H.  A.  Ustrud  and  C. 
G.  Lawrence;  1  U.  S.  Senator — Peter  Norbeck;  2  congressmen — 
C.  A.  Christopherson  and  William  Williamson. 

Clay  County  was  the  seat  of  the  first  Norwegian  settlement 
in  South  Dakota,  founded  in  1859.  South  Dakota  was  entered 
from  the  Nebraska,  not  the  Iowa  side,  by  these  first  land  seekers. 
Lars  A.  Torblaa,  from  Hardanger,  Sjur  H.  My  ran,  from  Hal- 
lingdal,  Ole  O.  Gjeitli,  from  Yoss,  and  Elling  O.  Engum,  from 
Sogn,  were  the  first  to  cross  over  into  Dakota.  They  came  from 
Koshkonong.  Torblaa  has  the  honor  of  being  the  first  Norwegian  to 
place  his  feet  on  Dakota  soil.  Soon  there  came  other  delegations 
from  the  eastern  settlements.  Three  of  the  Norwegian  governors 
of  South  Dakota — Andrew  E.  Lee.  Peter  Norbeck,  and  Carl  Gun- 
derson— have  lived  in  this  county.  Norbeck  was  born  in  Clay 
County.  According  to  Martin  Odland,  the  newspaper  man.  born 
in  Clay  Co.,  the  first  white  child  born  in  Dakota  was  a  Norwegian, 
Ole  Olson,  also  a  Clay  Co.  product.  In  1894  Ole  Olson  ran  for 
senator  against  Carl  Gunderson,  the  present  governor,  and  defeat- 
ed him.     Olson  now  lives  in  Oregon. 

In  1861  Rev.  Abraham  Jacobson,  of  Decorah,  la.,  accompanied 
a  company  of  eight  to  these  Dakota  settlements  at  Vermilion, 
Clay  Co..  and  the  adjoining  counties  to  the  east  and  west,  Union 
and  Yankton.  The  town  of  Yankton  was  the  capital  city.  Jacob- 
son  was  pleasingly  surprised  to  find  that  he  was  acquainted  with 


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188  Norwegian  People  in  America 

the  newly  appointed  governor,  his  wife  and  other  functionaries. 
They  all  hailed  from  Springfield,  the  home  of  Lincoln,  then  just 
elected  president  of  the  United  States.  Jacobson  had  attended  the 
Illinois  State  University,  Springfield,  1852-1860,  and  had  been  a 
school  mate  of  Robert  Todd  Lincoln,  who  attended  that  school. 
Jacobson  describes  the  primitive  conditions — the  slow  ox  cart,  the 
sod  cellars  without  windows  or  roofs,  the  open  prairies  and  prairie 
fires,  the  Indians  and  their  ways,  the  political  tension,  the  hunger 
for  God's  Word.  During  a  rain,  Jacobson  had  to  seek  shelter  at 
a  shack.  The  husband  was  not  at  home.  The  wife  and  children 
slept  in  the  wagon  box,  for  there  was  no  other  bed.  So  Jacobson 
sat  on  a  bench  in  the  corner  of  the  cellar,  holding  an  umbrella 
over  his  head  all  night,  to  ward  off  the  cold  November  rain.  Hos- 
pitality was  freely  shown  in  those  days.  Everyone  was  willing 
to  share  his  last  morsel  with  a  traveler.  And  these  settlers  were 
young  and  full  of  faith  and  hope  and  charity.  When  asked  if  she 
did  not  think  the  situation  looked  rather  hopeless  out  there  on 
the  cold,  bleak  prairies,  a  woman  replied :  "Better  times  are 
coming."   They  came. 

South  Dakota  has  been  a  favored  state  with  regard  to  the 
Norwegians.  Of  Norwegians  born  in  Norway  it  had  in  1850, 
none;  in  1860,  129;  in  1870,  about  800;  in  1880  about  8,000;  in 
1890,  19,257;  in  1900,  19,788;  in  1910,  20,018;  and  in  1920, 
16,813. 

5.    Churches,  1825-1860 

Since  1536  the  Lutheran  Church  has  been  the  State  Church 
in  Norway.  At  the  time  of  the  departure  of  the  Sloop,  in  1825, 
the  whole  country  was  nominally  Lutheran  except  about  a  dozen 
dissenters.  Even  today  nearly  99%  of  the  people  belong  to  the 
Lutheran  Church,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  there  is  complete  re- 
ligious toleration  and  that  Roman  Catholics,  Methodists,  Baptists, 
Adventists,  Salvation  Army  people,  Mormons,  Quakers,  and  other 
denominations  have  carried  on  a  very  active  propaganda  in  Nor- 
way for  many  years.  The  American  Methodists,  for  example, 
began  work  in  Norway  in  1853,  in  Sweden  in  1854,  in  Denmark 
in  1857,  and  in  Finland  in  1883.  From  1851  to  1920  they  con- 
tributed $2,636,141.00  to  establish  themselves  in  Scandinavia  and 
$746,760.00  among  the  Scandinavian  immigrants  to  the  United 
States.  In  1920,  according  to  the  Report  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  of  the  Methodist  Church  North,  there  were  27,688  Meth- 
odists in  Scandinavia,  of  whom  6,406  were  in  Norway.  Nearly  all 
the  sectarian  movements  have  come  from  England  and  America, 
and,  while  they  have  not  caused  much  of  an  exodus  out  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church,  they  have  nevertheless  in  places  profoundly  affected 
the  thought,  life  and  literature  of  the  Norwegian  Lutherans.  Thus, 
the  Quaker  movement  which  began  in  1816  with  Lars  Larson, 
Elias  Tastad,  and  a  half  dozen  others,  had  increased  outwardly 
to  only  86  in   1920,  but  inwardly  it  had  affected  many  of  the 


The  Norwegian  Period  189 

Lutherans  so  that  they  were  dissatisfied  with  the  Lutheran  Church 
and  bore  a  spirit  of  dissent  against  it. 

The  Norwegian  immigrants  to  America  carried  with  them  as 
religious  heritage  from  Norway,  not  only  the  Lutheran  faith,  but 
also  the  religious  tendencies  within  the  Lu- 
Religious  Situation  theran  Church  over  there.  There  were  three 
in  Norway  marked  tendencies  which  can  possibly  be  ex- 

pressed by  the  terms  high  schurch,  low  church 
and  broad  church. 

The  high  church  tendency  wras  one  that  highly  respected  the 
Church  as  a  divine  institution,  the  Word  and  the  Sacraments  as 
the  Means  of  Grace,  and  the  ministry  as  a  holy  office.  The  pas- 
tors of  Norway  and  the  upper  classes  generally  were  high  church- 
ly.  Now,  unfortunately,  during  the  18th  century  Rationalism 
came  like  a  black  shroud  over  the  State  Church  of  Norway.  Under 
cover  of  this  darkness  there  was  much  indifference  both  to  pure 
doctrine  and  Christian  living.  The  high  churchly  view  then  came 
to  be  associated  with  worldliness  in  teaching  and  practice. 

The  low  church  view  came  as  a  protest  to  this  worldliness.  It 
demanded  that  men  should  repent  and  believe.  It  called  for  per- 
sonal experience  in  the  power  of  the  Gospel  to  save  sinners  and 
the  privilege  of  every  man,  nay,  even  the  duty,  to  bear  witness  of 
the  fact  that  he  has  himself  found  peace  with  God  and  that  God 
can  save  sinners.  It  called  for  Bible  reading  and  prayer,  prayer 
meetings  and  lay  preaching,  in  addition  to  the  regular  work  by 
the  pastor.  But,  unfortunately,  since  the  pastors  and  official 
classes  as  a  rule  opposed  the  low  church  movement,  the  men  who 
held  the  low  church  views  began  to  look  upon  everything  con- 
nected with  the  high  church  as  dangerous — the  Church,  the  min- 
istry, the  ritual,  the  ordinances,  the  ministerial  training.  They 
regarded  seminaries  as  spiritual  cemeteries.  Hans  Nielsen  Hauge, 
the  great  reformer,  was  clear  in  his  own  mind  as  to  the  value 
of  the  Church  and  the  ministry,  but  some  of  his  followers,  called 
Haugeans,  were  more  extreme  in  their  opposition  to  the  high 
church  party. 

The  broad  church  view  saw  the  need,  on  the  one  hand,  of 
law  and  order,  of  ministry  and  ceremonies,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  acknowledged  also  that  there  must  be  Christian  living 
according  to  the  true  teaching  of  the  Word  and  that  lay  people 
must  have  the  privilege,  as  they  have  the  duty,  to  bear  witness 
and  "show  forth  the  excellencies  of  Him  Who  called  them  out  of 
darkness  into  His  marvellous  light"  (1  Pet.  2:9).  But,  unfor- 
tunately here,  too,  the  men  of  the  broad  church  view  were  apt 
to  include  the  bad  as  well  as  the  good  in  the  other  two  tendencies. 
These  tendencies  were  found  in  Norway  in  1825.  The  leaders 
were  high  church  people.    The  Haugeans  were  low  church.   The 


199  Norwegian  People  in  America 

majority   of    the    people    were   broad    church,    tolerant   and   easy 
going. 

In  addition  to  these  three  movements  within  the  Lutheran 
Church  there  was  the  sectarian  movement  which  refused  to  con- 
form to  Lutheran  doctrines  and  practices.  The  Quakers  of  Stav- 
anger  were  such  dissenters  and  schismatics.  And  while  possibly 
not  more  than  five  of  the  Sloopers  were  Quakers,  the  members 
on  the  boat  were  to  a  large  extent  affected  by  the  Quaker  spirit 
of  dissent. 

Norway  had  only  one  recognized  church  in  1825 ;  America 
had  over  100,  most  of  them  of  the  Reformed  group.    Here  was 

perfect  religious  freedom  with  high  churchly, 
Religious  Situation  low  churchly  and  broad  churchly  groups  of 
in  America  every  description.    Here  you  could  belong  to 

church  or  not,  as  you  pleased.  What  a  strange 
world  to  these  newcomers  of  ours  who  had  been  compelled  to 
baptize  their  children  and  confirm  them  in  the  Lutheran  faith ! 
But  there  was  some  difficulty  in  knowing  just  what  to  do  here. 
Should  they  join  the  great  throng  who  did  not  belong  to  any 
church?  Should  they  join  one  of  the  American  churches?  If  so, 
which  one?  Even  the  Quakers  in  the  party  found  it  difficult  to 
agree  as  to  whether  they  should  be  Orthodox,  Hicksite,  Wilbur- 
ite  or  Primitive.  Lars  Larson  remained  Orthodox  Quaker ;  Ole 
Johnson  chose  the  Hicksite  brand.  Their  children  became  Bap- 
tists. The  Adventists  made  a  strong  bid  for  their  support ;  they 
put  up  a  school  right  in  the  heart  of  the  Fox  River  Settlement, 
which  is  still  standing  as  a  witness  of  missionary  zeal.  The  Bap- 
tists and  Methodists  labored  among  them  both  long  and  faith- 
fully, but  there  were  a  dozen  kinds  of  Baptists  and  #s  many 
Methodist  denominations,  so  it  was  rather  difficult  to  know  whici. 
one  was  in  the  right.  Campbellites  and  Congregationalists,  Pres- 
byterians and  Episcopalians,  all  looked  upon  the  Norwegian  im- 
migrants as  their  rightful  possession  and  added  to  the  religious 
confusion.  Possibly  the  boldest  of  all,  and  the  most  successful, 
were  the  Mormons.  In  La  Salle  County  Mormon  and  Meth- 
odist congregations  are  still  at  work,  whose  membership  is  to  a 
large  extent  drawn  from  the  descendants  of  the  Sloop  Folk  and 
later  arrivals  from  Norway.  As  a  concrete  illustration  of  the 
effects  of  the  religious  confusion  in  America  the  case  of  the 
Rossadal  family  is  typical.  Daniel  Rossadal  was  a  good  man  and 
a  good  Quaker.  He  had  a  large  family  and  no  doubt  tried  to 
bring  them  up  in  the  Quaker  faith.  His  descendants  are  numer- 
ous— 255 — and  representative  citizens  and  churchmen.  But  they 
are  distributed  among  a  great  number  of  denominations,  in  the 
following  order,  beginning  with  the  denomination  that  has  had 
most  of  them  as  members, — Lutheran,  Methodist,  Congregational- 


The  Norwegian  Period  191 

ist,  Adventist,  Catholic,  Quaker,  Campbellite,  Mormon.  And  in 
addition  40%  of  them  are  not  known  to  belong  to  any  church. 
Such  are  the  conditions  in  America. 

And  yet,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  preaching,  it  seemed  to  many 
that  there  was  a  famine  in  the  land,  "not  a  famine  of  bread, 
nor  a  thirst  for  water,  but  of  hearing  the 
Lay  Preachers  words  of  the  Lord"  (Amos  8:11).    The  words 

of  their  friends  in  Norway  came  true,  that 
"they  would  feel  like  a  people  in  captivity  among  the  heathen  peo- 
ple, when  they  could  not  gather  about  the  Word  of  God  according 
to  their  custom  ;  they  would  think  of  the  ringing  of  the  church 
bells  in  their  home  valley ;  they  would  remember  the  festive 
march  to  church  on  a  clear,  glorious  Sunday  morning,  call  to  mind 
the  singing,  the  sermon,  the  communion,  the  chanting  at  the  altar, 
and  feel  so  unutterably  forsaken  and  poor."  So  great  would 
their  want  and  longing  be,  that  their  wail  of  woe,  as  A.  O.  Vinje 
had  predicted,  would  be  likened  to  that  of  the  children  of  Judah  in 
captivity:  "By  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  there  we  sat  down,  yea,  we 
wept,  when  we  remembered  Zion.  We  hanged  our  harps  upon 
the  willows  in  the  midst  thereof"  (Ps.  137:1-2).  That  many  of 
the  immigrants  felt  such  a  hunger  and  sorrow  is  really  a  fact, 
as  can  be  seen  from  the  letters  which  they  wrote  home  and  from 
the  personal  witness  of  men  and  women  who  have  lived  through 
the  pioneer  days  before  the  Lutheran  Church  came  to  feed  their 
hungry  souls.  And  this  situation  was  perfectly  natural,  for  the 
Word  of  God  has  been  taught  in  its  truth  and  purity  in  the  Old 
Country,  and  His  Word  does  not  return  void  unto  Him  (Isa. 
55:11). 

It  was  especially  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  of  high  churchly 
leanings  that  felt  that  it  was  a  great  hardship  not  to  have  a  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  Church  in  their  midst.  The  low  churchly  group 
had  recourse  to  prayer  meetings,  by  means  of  which  they  strength- 
ened one  another.  Practically  everyone  took  along  his  Bible  and 
hymn  book  and  possibly  also  his  catechism  and  postil.  Occasion- 
ally, of  course,  this  had  been  neglected.  Still,  most  of  the  goodbyes 
had  been  said  amidst  prayers  by  the  old  folks  and  admonitions  to 
read  the  Bible  and  follow  its  precepts  to  watch  and  pray.  John  W. 
Arctander,  in  his  book,  "Tr0st  for  Tvivlere"  (Comfort  for 
Doubters),  relates  that  when  he  left  his  home,  his  pious  parents 
duly  prayed  with  him  and  admonished  him  to  be  a  child  of  God. 
Then,  with  these  parental  blessings,  he  set  out.  As  soon  as  he 
came  out  in  the  harbor,  he  went  to  his  trunk,  for  he  was  sure  to 
find  a  Bible  there.  And  there  it  was,  a  brand  new  one.  At  that 
time,  and  for  many  years  afterward,  he  hated  all  this  talk  about 
Christianity,  so  his  object  was  to  get  a  hold  of  the  Bible  and 
throw  it  away.    He  took  the  Good   Book,  spit  into  it  and  then 


192 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


The  Norwegian  Period  193 

heaved  it  into  the  sea.   But  there  came  a  day  when  he  had  to  have 
it  again  to  get  peace  for  his  troubled  soul. 

The  immigrants  of  the  low  church  group  held  prayer  meetings. 
At  these  devotional  gatherings,  some  one  acted  as  leader.  He 
would  read  a  Bible  selection,  which  he  then  proceeded  to  expound 
and  to  apply.  Sin  and  grace  was  the  general  theme  of  every  lay 
sermon,  and  exhortations  to  repent  and  believe  were  as  much  a 
part  of  the  sermon  as  the  amen  was  a  part  of  their  prayers.  Any- 
one in  the  gathering  could  take  part  in  prayer,  praise,  personal  wit- 
nessing or  song.  The  prayer  meetings  were  serious  occasions,  at 
which  sinners  came  to  the  throne  of  mercy  for  pardon  and  peace. 

Ole  Olson  Hettletvedt  was  the  first  lay  preacher  among  the 
Norwegian  settlers.  He  preached  on  the  Sloop  and  was  engaged 
in  preaching  until  his  death  in  1849,  24  years  later.  There  arc 
men  still  living  who  can  testify  to  having  heard  him  and  to  having 
been  edified  by  his  glad  tidings.  O.  J.  Hatlestad  writes  about  him 
these  words  of  fitting  tribute :  "He  was  the  first  one  in  the  Fox 
River  Settlement  to  gather  the  people  about  the  Word  of  God. 
This  humble  and  serious-minded  man  later  became  known  in  wider 
circles  among  our  countrymen,  in  that  he  was  sent  out  by  the 
American  Bible  Society  as  a  Bible  agent.  In  that  capacity  he  vis- 
ited the  Norwegian  settlements  in  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and  parts  of 
Iowa."  Hatlestad  mentions  also  a  number  of  other  laymen  in  Il- 
linois and  Wisconsin  who  served  their  people  as  lay  preachers. 
His  list,  which  is  not  exhaustive,  includes  :  Aslak  Aae,  Endre  Os- 
mundsen  Aagerbo\  Herman  Osmundsen  Aagerbo7,  John  Brakestari, 
BipYn  Hatlestad,  Even  Heg,  Peder  AsbjoYnson  (Melius),  and 
Kleng  Skaar.   AsbjoYnson  became  ordained  in  1856. 

The  people  felt  the  need  of  more  fixed  forms  and  regular  ser- 
vices than  they  were  getting  through  the  prayer  meetings  and  lay 
preachings.  JoYgen  Pedersen  was  called  by  the  Haugean  Lutherans 
to  administer  the  Sacraments  as  well  as  to  preach  the  Word.  He 
accepted  the  call,  and  once  administered  the  Lord's  Supper  at 
Indian  Creek,  near  Leland,  111.  Shortly  afterward  he  joined  the 
Mormon  Church.  In  1837,  Ole  Olson  Heier  came  to  La  Salle.  He 
had  been  a  school  teacher  in  Norway  and  was  an  earnest  Haugean 
of  fine  presence  and  great  ability  as  a  speaker.  He  was  then  called 
to  take  Pedersen's  place.  He  accepted.  For  a  time  he  warned 
against  the  heresies  of  the  Mormons,  but  not  long  afterward  he 
also  joined  them.  He  became  an  elder  in  their  church  and  then  a 
bishop,  but  eventually  he  joined  the  Baptists.  The  third  layman  to 
be  called  as  minister  was  the  greatest  of  all  Norwegian  lay  preach- 
ers in  those  days,  and  perhaps  since.  He  remained  faithful  to  the 
Lutherans  to  the  end.   This  man  was  Elling  Eielsen. 

Eielsen  was  born  at  Voss,  Norwav,  September  19,  1804.  He 
was  just  35  years  old  when  he  arrived  in  America.  Trained  as  a 
blacksmith  and  carpenter,  when  he  "got  religion"  he  dropped  his 


194  Norwegian  People  in  America 

profession  and  began  to  witness.  In  the  footsteps  of  Hauge  he 
traveled  as  a  revivalist  back  and  forth  all  over  Norway,  from 
North  Cape  to  Lindesnes.  He  had  suffered  under  the  cross — 
had  been  mocked  and  threatened,  and  cast  into  prison.  Still  he 
kept  on  undaunted,  bearing  testimony  to  the  faith  that  was  within 
him.  He  was  assured  that  a  disciple  was  not  above  his  Master.  In 
his  sermons  he  was  true  to  Scripture.  His  sermons  were  exposi- 
tions and  exhortations,  well  seasoned  with  quotations  from  the 
Bible  and  the  hymn  book  and  illustrations  from  life.  He  had  little 
use  for  the  established  order  of  things  in  church  work,  especially 
with  regard  to  rituals,  vestments,  scholastic  training  and  the  like. 
He  was  suspicious  of  the  regular  clergy  because  they  had  perse- 
cuted him  and  defended  the  sham  and  hypocrisy  of  the  Church. 
He  was  therefore  often  intolerant  and  hard  to  cooperate  with. 


Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elling  Eielsen 


He  came  at  the  right  time,  and  he  came  to  work  while  it  was 
day.  He  preached  in  Chicago  the  day  he  arrived  there.  He 
preached  in  Fox  River  and  at  all  places  where  he  went.  At  Fox 
River  he  built  a  house  of  oak,  with  two  rooms  on  the  ground  floor 
to  be  used  as  a  hospice  for  immigrants  and  one  room  on  the  sec- 
ond floor  as  a  church  auditorium  for  his  services.  This  house  was 
actually  used  as  a  church  from  1841  to  1847  and  as  hospice  for 
many  more  years.  It  is  the  first  Norwegian  Lutheran  church  edi- 
fice in  America.  When  he  discovered  that  there  was  a  shortage 
in  Norwegian  school  books  he  secured  a  supply  by  going  to  New 
York  to  get  them  printed.  This  he  did  twice,  in  1841  and  in  1842. 
In  1841,  when  he  was  in  New  York,  the  good  ship  "Emilia"  came 
in  with  another  boatload  of  immigrants.  Eielsen  went  on  board, 
caused  the  people  to  pause  a  few  minutes  before  landing,  and  then 
he  conducted  a  devotional  meeting  as  a  fitting  entrance  to  this  land 
of  promise.  On  that  boat  he  met  a  young  woman,  Sigrid  Nelson 
Tufte,  who  two  years  later  became  his  wife.  The  cane  which 
Eielsen  used  and  which  comforted  him  in  his  long  pilgrimages 
he  gave  to  his  friend,  Rev.  Ole  E.  Hofstad ;  Hof stad  gave  it  to 


The  Norwegian  Period  195 

his  favorite  deacon,  Mathias  J.  Aus,  Canton,  S.  D. ;  Aus  gave  it 
to  O.  M.  Norlie,  reared  on  the  Dakota  prairies  as  his  neighbor ; 
Norlie  gave  it  to  the  Luther  College  Museum,  the  greatest  deposi- 
tory of  Norwegian  pioneer  articles  in  America.  See  "Ellings 
Stav"  in  "Visergutten,"  October,  1920. 

He  came  at  the  right  time,  and  his  influence  is  felt  to  this 
day.  Drinking,  dancing  and  other  forms  of  worldliness  were  get- 
ting the  upper  hand  in  the  Norwegian  settlements.  His  was  a 
voice  in  the  wilderness,  calling  to  repentance.  The  work  of  the 
sects,  as  stated,  was  bewildering.  Eielsen  was  a  dissenter,  but  not 
a  sectarian.  He  knew  what  he  wanted,  and  proceeded  in  a  bold, 
uncompromising  manner  to  get  it.  He  wanted  people  to  be  con- 
verted Christians  according  to  the  Lutheran  doctrines.  He  es- 
tablished congregations.  He  organized  the  first  Norwegian  synod 
in  America.  In  the  constitution  of  this  synod  he  makes  provision 
for  the  teaching  of  the  young  in  both  languages  (Norwegian  and 
English).  He  was  the  first  Norwegian  to  publish  books  in  Amer- 
ica. He  was  the  first  home  mission  superintendent.  He  helped  to 
found  three  higher  schools — Lisbon  Seminary,  Lisbon,  111.,  1855- 
56;  Eielsen,  Seminary,  Cambridge,  Wis.,  1865-68;  and  Hauge 
College  and  Eielsen  Seminary,  Chicago,  111.,  1871-1878.  He  ad- 
vocated doing  mission  work  among  the  American  Indians,  a  "for- 
eign" mission  work  that  his  synod  still  is  engaged  in.  He  intended 
to  build  an  orphans'  home  in  memory  of  his  son  Elias,  who  was 
killed  while  working  as  a  carpenter  on  the  Palmer  House,  Chicago. 
His  greatest  influence  is  perhaps  in  this,  that  he  got  the  Norwegian 
people  to  start  doing  definite  congregational  work  and,  by  his  un- 
compromising attitude  in  favor  of  lay  preaching  and  conversion, 
he  kept  the  extreme  high  churchmen  from  becoming  too  much 
like  the  State  Church.   Blessed  be  his  memory. 

It  is  written :  "How  beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  that  preach 
the  Gospel  of  peace,  and  bring  glad  tidings  of  good  things"  (Isa. 
52:7;  Rom.  10:15).  This  Bible  passage  ap- 
Pastors,  1825-1860  plies  with  peculiar  fitness  to  the  pioneer  pas- 
tors among  the  Norwegian  settlers.  In  the 
period  1825-1860  there  were  38  Norwegian  Lutheran  pastors. 
The  honor  roll  is  given  on  Page  196. 

These  38  ministers  averaged  26  years  of  service  in  the  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  Church  of  America.  Eielsen,  Clausen,  Andrew- 
son,  Anderson,  Scheie,  Hatlestad,  AsbjoYnsen.  Olsen,  Boyum. 
Strand,  Johnson,  Scheldahl,  Amlund  and  Fjeld  were  parochial 
school  teachers  and  lay  preachers  who  had  been  pressed  into  the 
service  as  preachers.  J.  W.  C.  Dietrichson,  Stub,  A.  C.  Preus, 
Brandt,  G.  F.  Dietrichson,  H.  A.  Preus,  Ottesen,  Koren,  Duus, 
Munch,  Thalberg.  Brodahl,  Claussen,  Larsen.  Jensen,  Magelssen, 
and   Muus,  held  the  degrees  of   Master  of  Arts  and  Candidate 


196 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


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The  Norwegian  Period  197 

in  Theology  from  the  University  of  Christiania.  Duborg  had 
attended  the  universities  of  Copenhagen  and  Kiel.  Larsen  and 
Johannesen  were  graduates  of  Hartwick  Seminary,  New  York, 
founded  in  1798  as  a  Lutheran  school.  Hartwick  Seminary  be- 
longed to  the  Hartwick  and  Franckean  synods.  Rasmussen  was 
a  graduate  of  Concordia  Seminary,  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind.,  a  school 
belonging  to  the  Missouri  Synod.  Norem,  Petersen  and  Jacob- 
son  were  graduates  of  the  Illinois  State  University.  This  was  the 
name  of  the  college  and  theological  seminary  of  the  Illinois  Synod 
and  the  Northern  Illinois  Synod  of  the  English  Lutherans.  An- 
derson had  attended  Beloit  College,  but  no  seminary.  Just  50% 
of  these  pastors  were  college-trained  men,  but  this  percentage  is 
higher  than  for  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  pastors  for  the  70-year 
period  1843-1913.  In  this  70-year  period  only  40%  of  the  min- 
isters had  college  degrees. 

It  should  now  be  noted  that  the  university-trained  men  from 
Norway  all  except  Thalberg  joined  the  Norwegian  Synod,  while 
the  lay  preachers  were  at  first  followers  of  Eielsen.  The  Nor- 
wegian Synod  represented  a  high  church  type  of  Lutheranism ; 
Eielsen,  a  low  church  type.  Eielsen's  ministerial  followers  de- 
'serted  him  in  1848  and  in  1851  took  part  in  the  organization  of 
the  Northern  Illinois  Synod,  a  broad  church  synod.  In  1850  he 
obtained  a  valuable  ally  in  P.  A.  Rasmussen,  but  Rasmussen  and 
Eielsen  parted  in  1856.  In  1858  Arne  E.  Boyum  became  an  "El- 
lingianer,"  but  in  1876  he  became  president  of  the  Hauge  Synod. 
A  word  or  two  about  a  few  of  these  pastors: 
Claus  Lauritz  Clausen  was  a  Dane,  born  Nov.  3,  1820,  at 
Aero7,  Fyen.  He  had  studied  business,  law  and  theology,  but  was 
not  a  graduate  from  any  school.  He  had  wanted  to  go  to  Zulu- 
land  as  a  missionary,  took  to  lay  preaching,  went  to  Norway, 
received  a  call  to  come  to  America  as  parochial  teacher,  and 
came.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  he  was  examined  by  Rev.  L.  F. 
E.  Krause  of  the  Buffalo  Synod  and  ordained  at  the  wish  of  the 
Muskego  Congregation.  He  lived  at  Muskego ;  Eielsen  was  his 
neighbor  at  North  Cape.  They  often  met,  but  they  could  not 
exactly  agree.  They  agreed  to  disagree.  Eielsen  was  too  extreme. 
When  Dietrichson,  a  high  church  extremist,  arrived  in  1844,  Clau- 
sen joined  him,  although  at  heart  he  was  really  a  broad  church 
man.  In  1845  Clausen  became  pastor  at  Koshkonong;  in  1846,  at 
Rock  Prairie,  ill  health  compelled  him  to  resign  and  seek  a  new 
climate.  In  1853  he  removed  to  St.  Ansgar,  la.  Here  he  founded 
congregations  that  he  served  several  years,  1853-1856,  1861-1872, 
resigning  again  on  account  of  sickness.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Iowa  Legislature,  1856-57,  and  a  commissioner  of  immigration, 
1857-60.  He  was  a  chaplain  in  the  Fifteenth  Wisconsin,  1861- 
62.  In  1851,  H.  A.  Preus,  A.  C.  Preus  and  Clausen  met  at  Rock- 
Prairie,    and     organized    the     Norwegian     Evangelical    Lutheran 


198 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Church  in  America.  The  constitution  of  this  body,  which  it  was 
claimed  contained  too  much  leaven  of  Grundtvigianism,  was  re- 
voked next  year,  and  the  Norwegian  Synod  arose  in  1853  on 
its  ruins.  Clausen  was  made  the  president  of  the  former  in  1851. 
In  1868  he  withdrew  from  the  Norwegian  Synod  on  account  of 
a  resolution,  adopted  in  1862,  relating  to  slavery.  In  1870  he  was 
one  of  the  leaders  in  establishing  the  Norwegian-Danish  Confer- 
ence, a  broad  church  synod.  In  1890  he  assisted  in  organizing  the 
United  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church.  In  1872  he  removed  to  Vir- 
ginia to  regain  his  health.  He  was  pastor  at  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
1875-77.;  at  Austin,  Minn.,  1877-85.  He  spent  the  last  years  of 
his  memorable  life  at  Paulsbo,  Washington,  with  his  son,  who 
for  several  years  was  auditor  of  Washington.  Says  J.  C. 
Roseland  of  him:  "His  name  is  woven  into  the  principal  events 
of  the  history  of  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  of  this  country,  down 


J.  W.  C.  Dietrichson 


to  recent  years.  Zealously  and  faithfully  he  administered  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  pioneers,  traveling  continually  between  the 
small  and  scattering  settlements  throughout  the  Northwest."  He 
died  Feb.  20,  1892. 

Johannes  Wilhelm  Christian  Dietrichson  was  31  years  old 
when  he  came  to  America  as  a  missionary  among  his  people  who 
were  literally  scattered  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  He  was  a 
disciple  of  Bishop  N.  F.  S.  Grundtvig  and  succeeded  in  swinging 
Clausen  over  to  his  views.  A  zealous  man  he  was,  with  a  firm 
hand,  and  a  mighty  exponent  of  the  high  church  view.  He  had 
great  respect  for  the  office  of  the  ministry  and  performed  his  of- 
ficial duties  with  authority  and  in  full  regalia.  U.  V.  Koren  said 
of  him:  'There  is  in  the  'Ordinance  of  Christian  the  Third'  a 
rule,  saying  that  'Pastors  shall  always  be  dressed  in  the  proper 
vestments.'  Dietrichsen  observed  this  command  literally,  and  it 
is  related  of  him  that,  even  when  he  hauled  wood,  water  or  other 
stuff,  he  was  clad  in  his  long  preacher's  gown  and  with  a  clerical 
ruff  about  his  neck."  Eielsen,  on  the  other  hand,  did  not  use  any 
uniform  to  distinguish  him  from  others.    He  was  terrified  at  Die- 


The  Norwegian  Period  199 

trichson's  high  church  manners  and  especially  his  Grundtvigian 
doctrines.  Grundtvig  was  a  Danish  reformer  who  had  awakened 
the  Danish  Church  out  of  a  rationalistic  sleep,  but  he  himself  had 
promulgated  some  heresies.  He  strangely  declared  the  Apostles' 
Creed  to  be  the  living  Word  and  the  Bible  to  be  a  dead  word 
and  that  there  was  a  possibility  for  conversion  and  salvation  after 
death.  Eielsen  declared  war  on  Dietrichson  and  Dietrichson  on 
Eielsen.  ''With  Dietrichson's  arrival,"  declares  Norelius,  "com- 
menced the  great  church  war,  which  has  raged  among  the  Nor- 
wegians up  to  the  present  time."  Dietrichson  made  a  trip  to 
Norway  in  1845  to  get  more  men  to  come  to  his  assistance.  He 
and  Clausen  could  by  no  means  serve  the  multiplying  and  grow- 
ing settlements.  In  1850  he  returned  to  Norway  for  good,  where 
he  labored  as  pastor  until  1874,  and  then  as  postmaster  until  1882. 
Dietrichson  was  a  worthy  exponent  of  the  high  church  view,  a 
Christian  man  with  both  knowledge  and  zeal.  He  shared  pioneer 
life  with  his  people  without  a  murmur.  He  preached  his  first 
sermon  at  Amund  Anderson's  barn  in  East  Koshkonong  on  August 
30,  1844,  and  his  second  service  he  held  under  a  large  oak  tree 
on  Knud  Aslakson's  farm  in  West  Koshkonong.  He  wanted  clean- 
cut  rules  to  go  by ;  his  aim  was  to  transplant  the  Norwegian  Lu- 
theran Church  to  American  soil.   He  was  a  good  husbandman. 

Paul  Anderson  represented  another  element  in  the  life  of  the 
Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  in  America.  He  had  attended  a 
Congregational  College  (Beloit),  and  had  seen  and  heard  things 
there  which  he  thought  worth  taking  along.  He  favored  the  use 
of  English.  He  was  much  wrought  up  about  the  slavery  question. 
In  1848  he  joined  the  Franckean  Synod  of  New  York,  chiefly  be- 
cause of  the  vigor  with  which  this  Synod  combatted  slavery. 
The  name  Franckean  sounded  good  to  him  and  the  one 
Franckean  pastor  he  knew  was  a  fine  Lutheran.  That  this 
Franckean  Synod  was  rather  weak  on  the  Augsburg  Confession 
he  at  that  time  knew  little  or  nothing  about.  In  1851  Anderson 
joined  in  the  movement  to  establish  a  Northern  Illinois  Synod. 
Swedish,  Norwegian,  German  and  English  Lutherans  joined  hands 
in  the  venture.  Anderson  served  both  as  secretary  and  president 
of  this  new  synod.  The  new  synod  was  to  be  a  part  of  the  Gen- 
eral Synod,  whose  leading  theologian  at  the  time  was  S.  S. 
Schmucker,  a  man  of  liberal  tendencies.  The  English  Lutherans 
of  the  N.  Illinois  represented  Schmucker's  views  all  too  well, 
for  they  wrote  a  constitution  in  which  the  Augsburg  Confession 
was  referred  to  as  only  "mainly  correct."  In  1852,  upon  motion 
by  Paul  Anderson,  the  words  "mainly  correct"  were  stricken, 
but  the  spirit  which  had  put  them  there  remained  as  strong  as 
before.  It  finally  caused  the  Scandinavians  to  withdraw  and  or- 
ganize a  more  staunch  Lutheran  synod,  the  Scandinavian  Au- 
gustana,  in   1860.    Anderson   translated   the   Illinois   Constitution 


200 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


into  Norwegian  in  1847  and  the  United  States  Constitution,  in 
1854.  He  wanted  the  Norwegian  people  quickly  to  become  Amer- 
icanized and  Anglicized. 

Hans  Andreas  Stub  was  a  much-beloved  pastor,  whose  name 
is  still  a  household  word.  Adolph  Carl  Preus  was  an  energetic 
president  of  the  Norwegian  Synod  during  many  trying  years, 
1853-1862.  Nils  O.  Brandt  was  the  first  pioneer  pastor  west  of 
the  Missisisppi,  a  teacher  at  Luther  College,  1865-1882,  and  a 
man  of  long  and  inspiring  influence.  His  wife,  nee  Didrikke  Ot- 
tesen,  was  a  wonderful  mother  in  Israel,  of  blessed  memory.  She 
never  tired  in  behalf  of  students  at  Luther  College ;  thousands 
enjoyed  her  hospitality.  Hundreds  of  the  great  Norwegians, 
as  well  as  those  not  so  famous,  have  had  their  stockings  darned 
and  their  pantaloons  mended  by  this  kind  woman  and  her  ladies' 


P.   A.   Rasmussen 


Knud   Henderson 


L.  M.  Bi0rn 


aids.  Her  brother,  Jakob  Aall  Ottesen,  was  one  of  the  must 
learned  of  the  early  pastors.  Herman  Amberg  Preus  was  the 
man  who  reorganized  the  Norwegian  Synod  and  commanded  it 
through  thick  and  thin,  from  1862  to  1894.  And  those  were 
strenuous  days,  with  doctrinal  controversies  and  practical  problems 
every  day.  Ulrik  Vilhelm  Koren,  pastor  at  Washington  Prairie, 
Iowa,  1853-1910,  succeeded  Preus  as  president  of  the  Norwegian 
Synod,  1894-1910.  A  staunch  Lutheran,  a  learned  scholar,  an  ex- 
cellent writer,  a  wise  administrator,  mighty  in  debate,  inspiring  in 
his  contacts  with  men.  Ole  J.  Hatlestad  added  much  to  out- 
knowledge  of  pioneer  conditions  by  his  "Historiske  Meddelelser" 
(Historical  Communications)  based  on  40  years'  experience  as 
church  worker,  a  man  among  men.  Peter  Andreas  Rasmussen, 
at  first  a  disciple  of  Eielsen,  then  a  member  of  the  Norwegian 
Synod,  then,  again,  a  leader  among  the  Anti-Missourians  who 
fought  the  Norwegian  Synod,  and  finally,  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  United  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church.  Pastor  at  Lisbon, 
111.,  1854-96;  president  of  Lisbon  Seminary,  1855-56;  founder  of 
the  Lisbon  Norwegian  Lutheran  Society  for  the  Publication  of 
Norwegian  School  Books  and  Devotional  Literature,  1856;  pub- 


The  Norwegian  Period  201 

lisher  of  "Kirkelig  Tidende"  (Church  Times),  1856-61;  "Opbyg- 
gelsesblad"  (Devotional  Paper),  1877-1887;  printer  of  many 
books ;  friend  of  foreign  missions ;  father  of  four  sons  in  the  min- 
istry—Gerhard (1883—),  Henry  Edmund  (1890—),  Wilhelm 
Augustin  (1890 — )  and  Halbert  Jacob  (1898 — ).  Laur.  Larsen, 
the  grand  old  man  and  Nestor  among  Norwegian  educators,  pas- 
tor, 1857-1915,  professor,  1859-1915;  and  president  of  Luther 
College,  1861-1902.  Arne  E.  Boyum,  a  Haugean,  faithful  unto 
death,  pastor,  1858-1916,  first  president  of  Hauge  Synod,  1876- 
1887.  Bernt  J.  I.  Muus,  pastor  at  one  time  of  28  pioneer  congre- 
gations, in  a  district  as  large  as  Denmark,  and  which  now  numbers 
over  150  self-supporting  Norwegian  Lutheran  congregations. 

Whole  books  might  be  written  about  each  of  these  men  and 
also  about  the  other  pastors  of  this  period.  Their  lives  are  epics. 
Two  books  have  already  been  written  about  Eielsen — Bro'- 
haugh  and  Eisteinsen's  in  1883  and  E.  O.  Mo'rstad's  in  1917. 
There  are  good  sketches  of  him  in  various  other  books,  as :  one 
by  John  Johnson,  in  1887;  J.  C.  Roseland,  in  1890;  O.  M. 
Norlie,  in  1915;  and  M.  O.  Wee,  1919.  R.  Andersen  has  pub- 
lished the  Life  of  Clausen,  1924;  L.  M.  Bi0rn  wrote  one  on  P. 
A.  Rasmussen  in  1905.  Mrs.  Elisabeth  Koren's  "Era  Pioneer- 
tiden"  (From  the  Pioneer  Days),  extracts  from  a  daybook  and 
letters  in  1853-1854,  was  published  by  her  children  in  1914.  The 
historical  magazine  "Symra"  contains  spirited  accounts  about  some 
of  these  heroes  :  Svein  Strand  writes  about  C.  L.  Clausen  (1913)  ; 
H.  G.  Stub,  about  H.  A.  Stub  (1907);  A.  Bredesen,  about  N. 
O.  Brandt  (1907),  and  H.  A.  Preus  (1910)  ;  C.  K.  Preus,  about 
H.  A.  Preus  (1906)  ;  L.  S.  Swenson,  about  Laur.  Larsen  (1909)  ; 
Th.  Eggen,  about  B.  J.  I.  Muus  (1910)  ;  Clara  Jacobson,  about 
A.  Jacobson  (1912)  ;  also  one  on  "Nogle  Gamle  Minder"  (Some 
Old  Recollections),  by  Laur.  Larsen,  1913. 

In  his  speech  before  the  House  of  Representatives,  February 
24,  1925,  Congressman  O.  J.  Kvale,  himself  a  Norwegian  Lu- 
theran pastor    (1894-1923),   says  about  the  pioneer  pastors: 

"An  inspiring  thing  it  is  to  recall  the  stories  of  the  lives  of 
the  young  men,  many  of  them  university  graduates,  who  had 
been  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  Norway,  with  splendid  openings 
and  careers  ahead  of  them  there,  but  who,  nevertheless,  at  great 
sacrifice,  were  willing  to  abandon  these  confident  hopes  and  throw 
their  lot  with  their  countrymen  who  so  sorely  needed  their  ser- 
vices in  the  New  World.  Of  these  there  were  many;  more  than 
could  be  enumerated  here.  But  the  roster  of  their  names  in- 
cludes, among  others,  the  names  of  Eielsen,  Clausen,  Dietrichson. 
Anderson,  Stub,  Preus,  Brandt,  Ottesen,  Koren,  Hatlestad,  Ras- 
mussen, Larsen,  Magelssen,  Muus,  Hanson,  Dahl,  Homme,  Lys- 
nes,  Weenaas,  Ylvisaker,  Wright,  Hoyme,  Mohn,  Oftedal,  Sver- 
drup.    Surely  these  names  are  chiseled  in  adamant  by  the  Record- 


202  Norwegian  People  in  America 

ing  Angel  of  God.   Their  work  lives  forever  in  the  hearts  of  their 
blood  brethren,  in  the  history  of  this  Nation." 

Pastoral  calls  were  extended  to  Jo'rgen  Pedersen  in  1836  by 
the  Fox  River  Lutherans;  to  Ole  Heier,  in  1837.    Ole  Nattesta, 
on  behalf  of  the  Jefferson  Prairie  Lutherans, 
Congregations,  sent  a  letter  of  call  to  Norway  in  1839.   Elling 

1825-1860  Eielsen  was  called  in  1843  at  Fox  River,  al- 

though he  had  previously  served  the  Lutherans 
there  four  years  and  had  built  them  a  church  there  in  1841.  C.  L. 
Clausen  was  called  to  serve  Muskego  in  1843.  J.  W.  C.  Dietrich- 
son  tells  in  his  book  on  the  settlements  ("Reiser  blandt  the  norske 
Emigranter")  just  how  he  proceeded  to  organize  the  congregations 
at  Koshkonong  in  1844.  These  were  the  first  attempts  at  gather- 
ing the  Norwegians  into  organized  congregations  and  securing 
regular  pastoral  care.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  congregations 
organized  before  1850.  There  were  also  preaching  stations,  but 
they  are  not  included.  For  a  description  of  the  congregations  see 
"Norsk  Lutherske  Menigheter  i  Amerika,   1843-1916". 

The  first  Norwegian  Lutheran  Synod  was  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church  in  America,  commonly  called  the  Eielsen  Synod 

or  the  Elling  Synod.  It  was  organized  in  1846 
Synods,  1825-1860        at  Jefferson   Prairie,   Wis.,  "where  a   few  of 

the  widely  scattered  believers  were  assembled 
at  a  publicly  called  church  meeting."  A  constitution  was  then  and 
there  drawn  up.  "Eielsen  dictated  and  Andrewson  wrote"  that 
constitution  which  has  since  been  called  the  "Gamle  Konstitution" 
(Old  Constitution).  It  was  quite  polemical.  In  Paragraph  1  it 
refutes  the  charge  that  the  followers  of  Eielsen  are  a  sect — they 
are  true  Lutherans.  In  Paragraph  2  conversion  is  demanded  as  a 
condition  for  membership  —  Clausen  and  Dietrichson  accepted 
nominal  Lutherans  as  members.  Paragraph  6  is  an  attack  on  the 
"papal  authority"  and  the  clerical  gowns  of  the  State  Church  pas- 
tors and  a  warning  is  put  on  record  against  the  "scribes  which 
desire  to  walk  in  long  robes,  and  love  greetings  in  the  markets, 
to  be  seen  of  men"  (Luke  20:46).  Paragraph  6  rejects  the  laying 
on  of  hands  in  Communion,  practised  by  the  Norwegian  Synod. 

The  second  synod  with  which  the  Norwegians  were  connected 
was  the  Franckean  Synod  of  New  York.  It  was  organized  in  1837 
by  four  German-English  Lutheran  pastors  and  four  delegates.  In 
1908  it  united  with  the  Hartwick  Synod  (1830)  and  the  Synod  of 
New  York  and  New  Jersey  (1872)  to  form  the  New  York  Synod, 
since  1918  one  of  the  constituent  synods  of  the  United  Lutheran 
Church  in  America.  Paul  Anderson  was  the  only  Norwegian  pas- 
tor who  officially  belonged  to  the  Franckeans.  Andrewson  sup- 
ported it  in  1848-1851. 


The  Norivegian  Period  203 


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204 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


A.  C.  Preus,  N.  S. 
1853-62 


H.  A.  Preus,  N.  S. 
1862-94 


Dr.  U.  V.  Koren,  N.  S. 
1894-10 


The  Northern  Illinois  Synod  is  the  third  attempt  of  the  Nor- 
wegians to  establish  synodical  connections.  Paul  Anderson  was 
the  Norwegian  leader  in  the  movement;  Lars  P.  Esbjo'rn  was  the 
Swedish  leader.  This  synod  had  8  pastors,  20  congregations  and 
653  souls  in  1851,  and  in  1859  it  had  5,316  souls;  while  in  1860, 
after  the  Swedes  and  Norwegians  withdrew,  it  had  only  1,551 
souls.  In  doctrine  and  practice,  largely  through  Reformed  influ- 
ence, the  English  members  of  the  Northern  Illinois  Synod  were 
rather  liberal.  Esbj0rn  desired  to  have  included  in  the  minutes 
of  the  organization  meeting  a  note  showing  the  doctrinal  position 
of  the  Swedish  churches,  to  the  effect  that  the  Bible  is  the  in- 
fallible Word  of  God  and  the  highest  authority  and  rule  of  faith 
and  practice,  and  that  the  symbolical  books  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
contain  a  correct  summary  and  exposition  of  the  Bible.  The  rea- 
son why  he  did  this  was,  that  Article  2  of  the  constitution  of  the 
N.  Illinois  Synod  referred  to  the  Augsburg  Confession  as  only 
"mainly  correct."  Anderson  moved  the  objectionable  words  struck 
out,  and  this  was  done,  without  changing  the  views  of  the  English 
members.  Esbjo'rn  became  the  Scandinavian  professor  of  theology 
at  the  Illinois  State  University,  at  $700.00  a  year.  The  first  presi- 
dent, Francis  Springer,  1852-1855,  was  an  ultra-liberal.   The  sec- 


Paul  Anderson,  N.  T. 
1857-58 


C).  J.  Hatlestad,  A.  S. 
j 870-81,   1888-90 

Synodical  Presidents 


Wright,  A.  S. 
1885-88 


The  Norwegian  Period 


205 


0sten  Hanson,  H.  S. 
1887-93 


M.  G.  Hanson,  H.  S. 
1899-05,  1 9 10- 1 7 


Johan  Olsen,  N.  C. 
1872-81 


ond  president,  Simon  W.  Harkey,  1855-1858,  was  mediating.  The 
third  president,  Wm.  M.  Reynolds,  foolishly  opposed  the  theology, 
the  practices  and  the  languages  of  the  Scandinavians  at  his  school, 
and  the  results  were  as  sudden  as  they  were  emphatic.  The  Scandi- 
navians picked  up  their  hats  and  hooks  and  departed.  The  rupture 
came  in  1860,  the  year  in  which  Dr.  Reynolds  resigned  his  post. 
He  joined  the  Episcopal  Church  in  1864,  to  get,  as  he  said,  some- 
thing to  do. 

The  fourth  synod,  organized  in  1851,  hy  C.  L.  Clausen,  H.  A. 
Stub  and  A.  C.  Preus,  was  dissolved  in  1852  on  account  of  H.  A. 
Preus's  objection  to  Paragraph  2  of  the  constitution.  This  para- 
graph read  as  follows :  "The  doctrine  of  the  Church  is  that  which 
is  revealed  through  God's  Holy  Word  in  our  Baptismal  covenant, 
also  in  the  canonical  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments."  As 
this  paragraph,  according  to  the  constitution,  could  never  be  al- 
tered, it  was  found  necessary  to  dissolve  the  organization  and  to 
start  anew.   This  was  done. 

The  fifth  synod,  usually  called  the  Norwegian  Synod,  was  of- 
ficially named  the  Synod  for  the  Norwegian  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  in  America.  It  was  organized  February  3,  1853,  under  the 
direction  of  H.  A.  Preus.    Six  other  pastors  were  present  at  the 


M.   BioYn,  A.  M. 
1886-90 


Dr.  T.  H.  Dahl,  U.  C.        E.  E.  Gynild,  L.  F. 
1902-17  1899,   190.S.   1909,   191 2 

14,  1923— 
Synodical  Presidents 


206  Norwegian  People  in  America 

organization  meeting — C.  L.  Clausen,  H.  A.  Stub,  A.  C.  Preus,  N. 
O.  Brandt,  G.  F.  Dietrichson,  and  J.  A.  Ottesen.  A.  C.  Preus  be- 
came the  first  president,  1853-1862;  H.  A.  Preus,  the  second, 
1862-1894;  U.  V.  Koren,  the  third,  1894-1910;  and  H.  G.  Stub, 
the  fourth  and  last,  1910-1917.  Of  the  38  congregations  repre- 
sented at  the  first  meeting  31  were  located  in  Wisconsin.  Since 
this  synod  for  several  decades  had  its  main  strength  in  Wisconsin, 
is  was  often  called,  by  friend  and  foe  alike,  the  Wisconsin  Synod. 
Purity  of  doctrine  was  its  slogan.  It  has  fought  for  purity  of 
doctrine,  sometimes  on  the  offensive,  oftener  on  the  defensive,  and 
has  been  the  bulwark  of  conservatism  among  the  Norwegian  Lu- 
therans. It  early  formed  friendships  and  connections  with  the 
Missouri  Synod,  the  most  conservative  and  exclusive  of  the  Ger- 
man synods  in  America.  The  chief  among  the  theological  giants 
of  Missouri  was  Dr.  Carl  F.  W.  Walther,  rated  as  the  greatest 
Lutheran  in  American  history.  German  immigration  to  America 
was  heavy.  Nearly  1,000,000  came  over  from  Germany  in  the 
fifties;  nearly  500,000  had  come  in  the  forties.  They  came  on  ac- 
count of  economic,  religious  and  political  oppression  at  home. 
Walther  came  because  of  religious  oppression.  He  was  intensely 
pious  and  strictly  Lutheran.  The  Union  movement  was  on ;  Ra- 
tionalism and  Indifferentism  held  honored  places  in  nearly  all 
church  circles.  Walther  became  involved  in  difficulties  with  his 
rationalistic  superiors  and  cast  his  lot  with  the  Saxon  emigrants 
who  left  the  Fatherland  in  1839.  He  rallied  them  here,  founded 
congregations,  synod,  schools,  publishing  plant,  church  periodi- 
cals, missions ;  he  called  his  people  to  the  banner  of  the  pure 
doctrine  and  left  a  deep  impress,  not  only  on  his  own  synod,  but 
on  the  remotest  Lutheran  bodies.  The  impress  on  the  Norwe- 
gian Synod  was  indeed  great.  Beginning  with  1859  the  Norwe- 
gian Synod  sent  its  prospective  ministers  to  the  German  theo- 
logical seminary  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.  At  this  school — Concordia 
Seminary — Rev.  Laur.  Larsen  that  year  began  work  as  Norwe- 
gian theological  professor.  In  their  controversies  with  the 
other  Norwegian  Lutherans — on  questions  such  as  Donatism, 
the  Sabbath,  slavery  and  predestination — the  Norwegian  Synod 
often  sought  advice  or  support  from  the  German  brethren. 

The  sixth  synod  was  the  Scandinavian  Augustana,  founded  in 
1860.  It  was  called  Augustana  to  show  that  it  stood  firm  on  the 
Augustana,  or  Unaltered  Augsburg  Confession.  It  was  organized 
by  Swedes  and  Norwegians  who  had  belonged  to  the  Northern 
Illinois  Synod  and  had  left  that  body  on  account  of  its  halting 
attitude  in  doctrinal  matters.  It  was  a  conservative  synod,  but 
not  extreme  as  was  the  Norwegian  Synod.  It  had  large  sym- 
pathies for  lay  preaching,  but  not  in  a  pronounced  degree,  as  did 
the  Eielsen  Synod.  It  was  a  broad  church  synod,  a  middle-of-the- 
road  church  party. 


The  Norivegian  Period 


207 


Norway  is  one  of  the  most  Lutheran,  if  not  the  most  Luther- 
an of  all  countries  in  the  world.  The  Lutheran  faith  is  the  most 
evangelical  of  all  the  systems  of  religion 
Lutheran  Doctrine  based  on  the  Bible.  The  Lutheran  Church  gets 
its  name  from  Martin  Luther,  the  Hero  of 
the  Reformation.  As  a  separate  and  distinct  church,  it  dates 
from  1530,  when  the  Augsburg  Confession  was  read  before  the 
Emperor  Charles  V  at  the  Diet  of  Augsburg.  In  doctrine  it  is 
as  old  as  the  original  Church  which  came  into  being  on  the  Day 
of  Pentecost. 

In  its  doctrines,  the  Lutheran  Church  is  a  staunch  champion 
of  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of 
God,  inspired  by  Him,  pre- 
served by  Him,  authorita- 
tive, perfect,  clear  and  effi- 
cacious. It  believes  in  the 
verbal  inspiration  of  the 
Bible.  "Firm  in  the  faith 
Immanuel  taught,  she  holds 
no  faith  besides."  It  ac- 
cepts the  ecumenical  creeds 
of  Orthodox  Christianity — 
the  Apostolic,  the  Nicene 
and  the  Athanasian  Creed. 
It  holds  also  the  Unaltered 
Augsburg  Confession  to  be 
a  correct  exhibition  of  the 
faith  and  doctrine  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  founded 
upon  the  Word  of  God. 
Every  Lutheran  congrega- 
tion and  synod  accepts  this 
as  the  fundamental  confes- 
sion. By  the  side  of  the 
Augsburg  Confession  is  Lu- 
ther's Smaller  Catechism,  in 
use  throughout  the  Luther- 
an Church  in  the  instruction 
of  the  young.  No  Lutheran 

body  rejects  the  other  confessional  books  in  the  Book  of  Con- 
cord (1580).  Many  accept  all.  The  Lutheran  Church  is  thus 
seen  to  be  a  Bible-loving  and  creed-loving  Church.  It  is  both 
conservative  and  progressive,  peace-loving  and  militant,  a  Mary 
learning  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  a  Martha  serving  Him.  The  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  synods  have  suffered  less  from  the  inroads  of 
rationalism  and  sectarianism  than  any  other  branch  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church. 


Christ   Church,    Chicago,    Illinois, 
J.    H.    Meyer,    Pastor 


208 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


As  to  worship,  there  may  he  differences  in  details,  because  the 
Lutheran  Church  grants  great  liberty  in  such  matters.  But  in  the 
essential  things  Lutheran  worship  is  practi- 
Lutheran  Worship  cally  the  same  everywhere.  The  typical  Lu- 
theran building  has  an  evangelical  sym- 
bolism. The  tall,  slender  steeple,  for  example,  points  heaven- 
ward and  summarizes  the  Gospel  of  Atonement,  God's  plan  of 
salvation.  The  ground  plan  of  the  church  building  is  in  the  form 
of  a  cross.  The  furniture  includes  a  pulpit,  a  baptismal  font 
and  an  altar,  representing  the  three  Means  of  Grace — the  Word, 
Baptism   and   the   Lord's    Supper.      The   Lutheran   congregation 


First  Lutheran  Church,  Albert  Lea,  Minnesota 
Dr.  Martin  Anderson,  Pastor 

assembles  in  God's  house  to  meet  God,  and  the  congregation  and 
pastor  as  God's  ambassador  are  two  equally  important  elements. 
Most   congregations    follow   a   beautiful,   but    simple,   liturgy,   in 

which  the  two  principal  elements  of  worship the  sacramental 

and  the  sacrificial — appear  in  splendid  balance.  In  the  sacra- 
mental, God  comes  to  the  worshiper  and  offers  him  grace.  In  the 
sacrificial,  man  goes  to  God  and  offers  Him  prayer  and  praise 
and  thanksgiving.  The  church  year  is  observed,  with  its  stated 
pericopes,  and  the  sermon  is  made  a  vehicle  for  the  expounding 
of  the  Scripture  without  fear  or  favor.  The  whole  congrega- 
tion sings  ;  the  choir  is  of  secondary  importance.  The  minister  is 
the  shepherd  of  God's  flock,  the  servant  of  all.  Everyone  has  a 
right  to  approach  the  throne  of  grace;  everyone  has  a  duty  to 
proclaim  His  praises,     There  is  room   for  men  and  women,  for 


The  Norwegian  Period 


209 


young  and  old,  in  this  ministry.  The  Norwegian  Lutherans 
regard  the  Church  as  a  divine  institution  and  the  ministry  as  a 
holy  calling.  The  old  Muskego  Church  indicates  in  its  structure 
what  a  great  regard  the  pioneer  Norwegians  had  for  the  Means 
of  Grace.  One-third  of  the  building  was  occupied  by  the  pulpit, 
font  and  altar. 


Scandinavian  Zion  Church,  Richmond,  Staten  Island, 
R.  O.   Sigmond,  Pastor  at  Time  of   Building 

Organically,  there  is  no  such  body  as  the  Lutheran  Church  of 
America.   Not  yet,  and  perhaps  there  never  will  be.   The  Lutheran 
Church    does    not    stress    organic   union    very 
Lutheran  Organize     much,  if  at  all.    It  believes  in  doctrinal  unity, 
tion    and  Polity  rather  than  external  union.    The  form  of  gov- 

ernment, it  believes  belongs  to  the  human  side 
of  the  Church,  in  which  liberty  is  granted.  It  has  thrived  under 
every  type  of  polity — episcopal,  presbyterial,  congregational  and 
synodical.  The  synodical  is  the  favorite  one  among  the  Norwegian 
Lutheran  synods  of  America.   The  individual  congregation  has  the 


210  Norwegian  People  in  America 

right  to  govern  itself,  possessing  all  the  privileges  granted  by  the 
Gospel,  and  governed  only  by  the  Word  of  God.  It  can  unite 
with  other  congregations  of  the  same  faith  into  larger  units, 
such  as  synods,  in  order  to  promote  the  unity  of  doctrine  and 
practice,  and  carry  out  the  program  of  the  Church.  Hence,  there 
is  much  striving  also  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  not  only  to  promote 
church  unity,  but  also  church  union,  though,  as  stated,  the  duty 
of  creating  church  unions  is  regarded  as  a  practical  measure,  not 
as  a  doctrinal  tenet.  Among  the  early  Norwegian  Lutheran 
congregations  and  church  leaders  there  were  therefore  attempts 
to  form  synods  and  to  unite  the  synods  into  one  Norwegian 
Lutheran  Church  of  America.  And  ever  since,  such  efforts 
toward  a  more  perfect  union  have  been  going  on,  and  there  have 
been  mergers  of  synods  into  new  synods,  and  the  organization  of 
associations,  federations,  conferences,  commissions,  councils  and 
inter-synodical  corporations.  In  this  way  the  Norwegian  Luther- 
an Church  has  better  been  able  to  do  its  work  at  home  and  abroad, 
in  the  fields  of  publication,  education,  foreign  missions,  home  mis- 
sions, inner  missions  or  charity,  as  well  as  the  regular  work  of 
the  pastor. 

It  is  difficult  to  tell  just  how  much  work  was  done  by  the  non- 
Lutheran   denominations   among   the    Norwegian    settlements    for 

the  reason  that  the  greater  part  of  this  work 
IS on-Lutheran  was  done  in  English.     Even  the  history  of  the 

Denominations  work  conducted  in  Norwegian  is  hard  to  write 

about  because  it  has  not  been  adequately 
recorded.  A  complete  history  of  the  non-Lutheran  activities 
among  the  Norwegians  would  involve  most  of  the  denominations 
and  fill  many  volumes. 

a.    Quakers 

The  Quakers,  or  Friends,  own  as  their  founder  George  Fox, 
who  began  to  preach  holiness  of  life  in  1647.  They  have  no  creed, 
no  liturgy,  no  sacraments.  Their  most  distinctive  doctrine  is 
spiritual  baptism.  Periods  of  silence  occur  in  their  meeting,  when 
no  one  feels  called  on  to  speak,  while  waiting  for  direct  inspira- 
tion from  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  are  opposed  to  war  and  empha- 
size brotherhood  in  all  human  relationships.  They  came  to  Nor- 
way in  1815  through  Lars  Larson,  Elias  Tastad,  Ole  Frank  and 
Even  Samuelsen,  Norwegians  who  had  been  held  prisoners  of 
war  in  England.  They  gave  to  Norway  its  first  and  greatest 
temperance  advocate,  AsbjoYn  Kloster,  and  made  Stavanger  the 
open  door  into  Norway  for  sectarians.  They  were  the  immediate 
cause  of  the  coming  of  Cleng  Peerson  and  the  Sloop  in  1825. 
They  had   a  hold   on   the   first    company   of    immigrants,    whose 


The  Norwegian  Period  211 

leaders  were  Quakers,  and  who  settled  at  Kendall  through  Quaker 
influence.  But  gradually  this  hold  was  lost,  and  the  number  of 
Quaker  congregations  among  Norwegians  have  dwindled  down 
to  one   (in  1916),  with  a  membership  of  92. 

b.    Mormons 

The  Mormons  call  themselves  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter  Day  Saints.  This  sect  was  founded  in  1830  by  Joseph  Smith 
at  Seneca,  N.  Y.  It  began  an  active  propaganda  but  met  with 
an  equally  active  opposition,  especially  after  1843,  when  Smith 
announced  a  revelation  in  favor  of  plural  marriages.  He  was 
shot  by  a  mob  in  1844  and  Brigham  Young  became  his  successor. 
In  1847  there  was  a  general  migration  from  Illinois,  where  they 
then  had  their  stronghold,  to  Utah,  where  they  in  1916  numbered 
91.8  per  cent  of  the  total  church  population.  In  1916  there  were 
1,530  Mormon  congregations,  of  which  463  were  in  Utah.  There 
were  462,329  Mormons,  of  whom  258,282  lived  in  Utah.  They 
claim  to  accept  the  Bible  and  the  "Book  of  Mormon,"  both  of 
equal  authority.  As  to  their  doctrines  read  the  expositions  by 
O.  L.  Kirkeberg  and  I.  G.  Monson.  The  Mormons  and  the 
Sloopers  came  to  Illinois  about  the  same  time  and  the  Mormons 
soon  convinced  many  of  the  Fox  River  Norwegians  that  Mor- 
monism  was  the  true  religion.  Jeirgen  Pederson.  Ole  Heier, 
Canute  Peterson,  Dr.  Gudmund  Haugaas,  and  others  became 
Mormon  preachers.  A  Mormon  congregation  was  established 
near  Norway.  111.,  which  still  is'  flourishing.  Some  of  the  branch 
presidents,  or  pastors,  at  Norwav  have  been:  Yonce  (Jens) 
Jacobs,  1862-63;  Thomas  Hougas.' 1863-1900;   John  Midgorden, 

1902-07;  Thomas  Hougas,  1907-19;  and  O.  T.  Haver,  1919 . 

Missionaries  were  sent  to  Norway.  Canute  Peterson  was  one  of 
them,  returning  with  600  converts  bound  for  Utah.  Some  of  the 
greatest  men  of  Utah  today  are  of  Norwegian  blood  and  Mormon 
faith.  Reed  Smoot.  United  States  Senator  since  1903,  an  apostle  in 
the  Mormon  Church,  had  a  Norwegian  mother — Anna  K.  Mauretz. 
John  Andreas  Widtsoe,  one  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  of  the  Latter 
Day  Saints,  has  been  president  of  the  Utah  State  Agricultural 
College  and  the  University  of  LTtah  and  the  International  Dry- 
farming  Congress. 

c.    Baptists 

The  Baptists  appear  in  history  as  early  as  1523.  Persons  who 
had  been  baptized  in  infancy,  on  professing  conversion  and  ap- 
plying for  admission  to  Baptist  churches,  were  baptized  again, 
hence  they  were  often  called  x\nabaptists.  Roger  Williams  of 
Rhode  Island  fame,  was  the  first  American  Baptist.  The  first 
Norwegian  Baptist  convert  and  preacher  in  America,  and  in  the 


212  Norwegian  People  in  America 

world,  was  Hans  Valder,  La  Salle  Co.,  111.  He  was  converted 
through  the  instrumentality  of  Elder  Harding,  June  22,  1842.  In 
August,  1844,  he  was  ordained  as  Baptist  minister.  He  was 
earnest,  aggressive,  a  gifted  and  winsome  speaker,  and  was  able, 
after  four  years  of  zealous  work  to  baptize  seven  adult  Nor- 
wegians in  January,  1848 — the  first  fruits.  They  organized  a  con- 
gregation at  Norway,  111.,  and  took  up  a  subscription  of  $13.00 
as  pastoral  salary.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  they  were  not  able 
to  earn  more  than  25  cents  a  day  at  splitting  cord  wood,  this  sub- 
scription was  considered  very  liberal,  and  it  was.  An  application 
was  made  to  the  American  Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society  for 
an  annual  assistance  of  $50.00  from  its  treasury.  Later  it  was 
found  expedient  to  unite  Valder's  Norwegian  congregation  with 
the  nearest  English  Baptist  congregation.  A  goodly  share  of  the 
Sloopers  became  English  Baptists.  The  further  work  of  the 
Baptists  will  be  dwelt  on  in  the  succeeding  chapters. 

d.    Methodists 

Methodism  is  the  result  of  a  movement  begun  in  1729  at 
(  >xford  University  by  John  and  Charles  Wesley.  John  Wesley's 
conversion  was  occasioned  by  his  reading  Luther's  "Introduction 
to  Romans."  Subsequently  he  made  a  journey  to  Germany,  but 
he  did  not  become  a  Lutheran.  The  Moravians  whom  he  met 
there  were  too  quiet  to  suit  his  militant  nature.  Men  could  not 
be  saved  without  holiness.  God's  people  must  be  a  holy  people. 
The  cause  was  urgent ;  the  time  was  short.  He  must  be  up  and 
doing,  inviting,  inciting,  compelling  men  to  come  to  the  marriage 
feast.  Naturally,  the  Methodist  preachers  would  feel  concerned 
about  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  Norwegian  immigrants.  They 
have  also  been  the  most  successful  in  converting  Norwegians 
from  Lutheranism  to  Methodism.  Methodism  was  first  planted  in 
Norway  in  1853  when  Rev.  O.  P.  Peterson,  a  Norwegian  who 
had  been  converted  in  New  York,  was  sent  as  missionary  to  his 
native  land.  The  first  Norwegian  Methodist  congregations  in 
America  were  organized  in  1853  at  Norway  and  Leland,  111.,  by 
John  Brown,  a  Danish  convert  to  Methodism.  The  pastoral  ap- 
pointments of  the  Norwav  Congregation  have  been  :  John  Brown 
(Dane),  1853-1854;  Halvor  H.  Holland  (Norwegian),  1854- 
1859;  Nels  O.  Westergren  (Swede),  1859-1860.  The  Leland 
charge  was  served  by  John  Brown  and  Halvor  H.  Holland. 

e.    Episcopalians 

At  Nashotah,  30  miles  west  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  had  erected  a  theological  seminary  as  early  as 
1842.  Tt  is  still  in  operation  under  the  name  Nashotah  House 
and  has  a  school  plant  and  endowments   valued  at  upwards  of 


The  Norwegian  Period  213 

$1,000,000.00.  One  of  the  first  students,  if  not  the  very  first,  was 
Gustaf  Unonius,  a  Swedish  Lutheran,  who  had  come  to  Pine 
Lake,  Wis.,  in  1841.  The  Pine  Lake  Swedes  hold  a  position  among 
Swedish-Americans  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  Sloopers, 
being  the  vanguard  of  the  Swedish  immigration  to  the  United 
States.  Unonius  graduated  in  1845  and  was  ordained,  first  as 
deacon  and  then  as  pastor  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  being  the 
first  Episcopalian  ordained  in  Wisconsin.  He  organized  Episco- 
palian congregations  at  Pine  Lake  and  elsewhere  among  the 
Swedes  and  Norwegians.  Thus  the  Norwegian  St.  Johannes  or 
Pine  Lake  Congregation,  located  six  miles  northeast  of  Ocono- 
mowoc,  Waukesha  County,  was  organized  in  1844  by  Unonius 
as  an  Episcopalian  congregation,  but  through  the  efforts  of  Die- 
trichson,  Stub  and  Clausen  it  was  won  back  to  the  Lutheran  fold. 
Rev.  J.  C.  Walledom  is  the  pastor  in  1925.  St.  Olaf  Congregation, 
sometimes  called  Ashippun,  ten  miles  south-southwest  of  Hart- 
ford, Dodge  County,  Wisconsin,  also  owes  its  origin  to  Unonius. 
This  congregation,  too,  is  under  the  spiritual  care  of  J.  C.  Walle- 
dom. Unonius  took  up  a  new  field  of  labor  in  1849,  at  Chicago, 
posing  both  as  a  Lutheran  and  an  Episcopalian.  Through  the 
aid  of  Jenny  Lind,  who  gave  him  $1,500.00,  he  built  St.  Ansgar 
Episcopal  Church  in  Chicago.  In  1858  he  returned  to  Sweden. 
His  book  "Minnen"  (Recollections)  give  a  true  account  of  his 
17-year  stay  in  America  and  is  a  valuable  source  book  of  pioneer 
history.  The  success  of  the  Episcopalians  among  the  Norwegian 
Lutherans  has  never  been  very  conspicuous.  From  the  first,  the 
Episcopal  Church  has  been  friendly  and  has  urged  amalgamation, 
due  mainly  to  the  fact  that  the  Scandinavian  State  Churches  live 
under  an  episcopal  organization.  The  Lutherans  do  not  stress 
episcopal  succession,  but  justification  by  faith,  and  therefore  have 
not  desired  an  organic  union  or  federation  with  the  Episcopalians. 

6.   Education 

The  ''Report  of  the  Immigration  Commission,  1820-1910" 
speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of   the   literacy  of   the   Norwegians. 

An  illiterate  in  census  statistics  is  a  person  at 
Literacy  least  ten  years  of  age  who  can  not  read  and 

write  any  language.  In  the  United  States  it 
is  considered  very  necessary  for  the  well-being  of  democracy 
that  all  citizens  be  able  to  read  and  write.  A  literacy  test  is  ap- 
plied to  immigrants  and  compulsory  school  laws  exist  in  every 
state.  Nevertheless,  the  census  returns  show  an  uncomfortably 
large  per  cent  of  illiterates.  Thus:  In  1880 — 17  per  cent  were 
illiterate;  in  1890—13.3  per  cent;  in  190O— 107  per  cent;  in 
1910- — 7 .7  per  cent  ;  and  in  1920—6  per  cent.    Illiteracy  is  not  a 


214  Norwegian  People  in  America 

problem  in  Norway.  Says  the  "Report  of  the  Immigration  Com- 
mission" just  referred  to :  "The  character  of  the  Norse  element 
in  America  is  well  enough  known  to  need  no  detailed  descrip- 
tion. In  Norway  the  rate  of  illiteracy  is  the  lowest  in  Europe. 
In  religion  the  Scandinavians  are  Protestant  almost  to  a  man — 
over  99  per  cent,  according  to  the  censuses  of  these  countries." 
In  the  "Report  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration  for 
1923,"  as  in  all  other  years,  the  Scandinavians  are  rated  the  most 
literate.  In  1923,  37,630  Scandinavians  were  admitted,  of  whom 
3  were  illiterate,  less  than  1-10  of  1  per  cent.  Mother  Norway 
had  taught  her  children  the  importance  of  letters.  Norwegian 
children  had  to  be  confirmed,  and  that  meant  that  they  had  first 
to  be  instructed  in  the  catechism,  Bible  history,  Bible  and  hymnal. 
To  receive  such  instruction  they  had  to  learn  to  read.  Hence,  in 
Norway,  as  in  all  other  Lutheran  lands,  it  became  a  practical 
necessity  to  learn  to  read  and  write.  The  early  immigrants  were 
literate.  On  the  fly-leaf  of  his  New  Testament  Daniel  Stensen 
Rossadal  writes :  "Jeg  denne  bog  eier,  Til  lykke  og  seier ;  Den 
give  mig  Gud  Frimodigt  at  straebe  Alt  syndigt  at  draebe  Min 
levetid  ud."  Also  the  inscription:  "Daniel  Stensen  og  hustru 
Berthe  Stavo'datter,  Sluppen  Resteration  den  28  juli,  1825.    Lig- 

gende  i Spanske  So'e "  (Dashes  indicate  matter 

too  faint  to  decipher). 

The  universal  passion   for   letters   which  the   Norwegian  in- 
herited  from   Norway  was  not  lost  in  this  country.    In  fact,  in 
this    country    all    immigrant   groups   vie   with 
Public  Schools  one  another  to  give  their  children  a  good  edu- 

cation. In  the  Census  for  1920,  for  example, 
2.5  per  cent  of  the  native  white  are  illiterate,  22.9  per  cent  of  the 
native  Negroes;  13.1  per  cent  of  the  foreign  born  whites  are 
illiterate,  but  only  .8  per  cent  of  their  children.  There  is  no  class 
in  America  more  anxious  to  get  an  education  than  the  children 
of  the  foreign-born,  and  there  is  no  class  of  foreign-born  more 
eager  than  the  Norwegians.  The  average  per  cent  of  illiteracy 
among  the  people  of  foreign-born  parentage  in  the  states  where 
the  Norwegians  are  quite  numerous  is  a  trifle  over  .4  per  cent. 
The  actual  average  for  the  Norwegians  is  possibly  not  over 
.1  per  cent.  These  Norwegians  have  been  faithful  patronizers 
of  the  public  schools,  both  elementary  and  higher,  from  the  kinder- 
garten to  the  university.  They  have  promoted  the  public  schools 
in  every  possible  way.  They  have  built  them  and  paid  taxes  for 
their  support.  They  have  sent  their  children  to  them  and  urged 
their  sons  and  daughters  to  teach  in  them.  They  have  tried  to 
keep  the  schools  non-sectarian  and  free  from  anti-Christian  doc- 
trines and  practices.    The  history  of  the  public  schools  show  that 


The  Norwegian  Period  215 

they  have  had  their  greatest  relative  strength  and  progress  in 
the  Northwest,  where  the  light-haired  Scandinavians  have  come 
to  stay. 

In   Norway  it   was   customary    for   the   parents   to  teach  the 
children  the  rudiments  of  reading  and  the  essentials  of  the  cate- 
chism at  home.   The  Norwegian  children  could 
Church  Schools  as   a   rule   read   before   they   began   to   go   to 

school.  They  received  aid  from  father  and 
mother,  particularly  from  mother,  every  day  they  attended  the 
elementary  school  until  they  were  confirmed.  Confirmation  took 
place  about  the  years  14-16.  This  home  instruction  was  most 
fundamental,  in  that  it  included  both  religious  and  secular  instruc- 
tion, both  the  common  house  duties  of  every  sort  as  well  as 
book  learning. 

a.    Parochial  Schools 

In  America  they  had  to  adjust  themselves  to  new  conditions 
and  provide  for  new  emergencies.  Life  was  more  strenuous  here, 
and  there  was  less  time  for  home  instruction.  Besides,  it  was 
not  customary  in  this  land  to  pay  so  much  attention  to  parental 
teaching.  The  public  schools  were  secular;  they  could  not  teach 
religion  there  if  they  would,  and  they  would  not  if  they  could, 
on  account  of  the  many  creeds  represented  in  this  country,  all  on 
an  equal  footing  before  the  law.  Furthermore,  the  language  of 
the  public  schools  was  exclusively  English,  and  the  parents  could 
not  keep  pace  with  the  children  in  acquiring  it.  In  this  way  the 
parents  could  not  very  easily  assist  the  children  in  their  school 
work,  and  the  religious  instruction  was  bound  to  be  neglected 
even  in  the  best  of  families. 

The  congregations,  therefore,  made  provision  for  maintaining 
parochial  schools,  in  a  very  few  cases  to  supplant  the  public 
schools,  in  nearly  all  cases  to  supplement  them.  These  schools 
were  held  at  the  most  convenient  times,  whenever  the  public 
schools  were  not  in  session  and  the  farmers  could  most  easily 
spare  their  children,  for  in  those  days  all  children  had  to  work 
side  by  side  with  father  and  mother,  and  there  was  no  talk  about 
getting  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
to  forbid  the  employment  of  children  under  18.  So  these  schools 
were  held,  in  the  heat  of  summer  or  the  cold  of  winter,  as  the 
case  might  be,  from  a  month  to  three  months  at  a  time.  The 
subjects  were  mainly  religious,  along  doctrinal,  historical,  Biblical 
and  practical  lines.  The  Smaller  Catechism  by  Luther  and  some 
Explanation  of  it — Pontoppidan,  Sverdrup,  Synodens — were 
learned  by  heart.  The  Bible  history,  with  a  taste  of  church  his- 
tory, was  carefully  mastered.    The  Bible  became  a  familiar  book 


2)6 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


through  much  reading  and  discussion.  The  most  select  hymns  and 
tunes  in  the  hymn  book  were  committeed  to  memory.  A  master- 
ful system  of  education,  this;  a  truly  liberal  education.  School 
masters  were  chosen  almost  as  carefully  as  were  the  pastors. 
Parochial  school  teaching  became  a  profession,  not  well  paid,  but 
respected.  Ole  Olson  Hettletvedt,  Slooper,  was  a  parochial  teacher. 
Elling  Eielsen  no  doubt  would  have  been  one,  had  he  not  been 
too  busy  with  finding  the  lost  sheep.  His  wife  was  an  excellent 
parochial  teacher,  and  her  fame  still  lingers.  C.  L.  Clausen  was 
called  to  come  to  Muskego  as  a  parochial  teacher,  not  as  a  preacher, 
and  answered :  "Lord,  here  am  I." 


Illinois  State  University:  The  "Coffee  Mill" 


b.  Illinois  State  University,  1852-1860  (1867) 
But  it  was  manifestly  hard  to  secure  teachers  and  pasturs. 
They  had  to  be  Norwegian;  they  had  to  be  Lutheran.  It  was 
clear  to  all  that  the  harvest  truly  was  great,  but  the  laborers  few. 
It  was  equally  clear  that  the  State  Church  of  Norway  was  not 
going  to  send  a  sufficient  supply  of  workers.  Those  that  had  come, 
had  come  of  their  own  initiative  or  at  the  call  of  the  Norwegians 
here.  The  Norwegian  Lutheran  synods  therefore  discussed  the 
problem  of  building  higher  schools  whose  aim  should  be  to  train 
teachers  and  pastors. 

The  first  synod  to  take  definite  action  was  the  Northern  Illi- 
nois. There  had  been  a  Lutheran  academy  at  Hillsboro,  Illinois, 
since  1839.  In  1847  this  school  became  a  college — Hillsboro  Col- 
lege. In  1852  the  school  was  moved  to  Springfield,  the  capital  of 
the  state,  and  was  made  a  university — the  Illinois  State  Univer- 
sity. This  Illinois  State  University  was  not  a  state  institution 
but  a  Lutheran  academy,  college  and  seminary,  the  property  of 


The  Norwegian  Period 


217 


the  Illinois  and  Northern  Illinois  synods.  The  English  members 
of  these  synods  were  not  particularly  concerned  about  the  Scandi- 
navians and  their  need  of  men  to  teach  and  preach  in  the  Scandi- 
navian tongues.  They  elected  men  of  prominence  in  state  politics, 
to  membership  on  their  board  of  trustees,  good  men  withal,  but 
most  of  them  non-Lutherans.  Even 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  patron  of  the 
school,  gave  of  his  money  to  its  support, 
and  sent  his  son  Robert  to  study  there 
for  a  number  of  years,  1853-1859.  A  let- 
ter from  Robert  Lincoln  to  the  author 
testifies  that  it  was  a  good  school.  The 
school  had  a  faculty  of  about  10  men. 
In  1852  the  attendance  was  79  in  the 
academy,  and  3  in  the  college ;  in  1858 
it  was  101  in  the  academy,  41  in  the 
college,  and  4  in  the  seminary.  Only 
boys  in  attendance.  In  1853  there  were 
seven  Norwegians  in  attendance:  Abra-  Lars  P.  Esbj0rn 

ham  Jacobson,  Decorah,  Iowa ;  John  G. 

Johnson,  Decorah;  Knud  Knudson,  Mission  Pointy  Illinois; 
Nelson  Lawson,  Chicago;  Lars  H.  Norem,  Chicago;  Chris- 
tian Olson,  Chicago;  and  P.  H.  Peterson,  Clay,  La  Salle  County, 
Illinois.  Most  of  the  students  were  in  attendance  because  the 
school  was  near  at  hand.  In  1852,  77  per  cent  of  the  students 
came  from  Springfield;  in  1859,  63  per  cent.  Abraham  Jacobson, 
whose  daughter  Helga  is  wife  of  Dr.  L.  W.  Boe,  president  of 
St.  Olaf  College,  the  largest  Norwegian  college  in  America,  was 
the  first  Norwegian  student  at  the  University.  The  first  Swede 
to  enroll  was  A.  Andreen,  the  father  of  Dr.  G.  A.  Andreen,  pres- 
ident of  Augustana  College,  Rock  Island,  the  largest  Swedish 
school  in  America.  The  courses  were  standard.  The  college  had 
four  years  of  Greek  and  Latin  and  mathematics  through  calculus, 
no  subject  elective.  The  financial  support  came  mainly  from  the 
constituent  congregations.  The  school  stranded  in  1867  on  ac- 
count of  the  withdrawal  of  the  Scandinavians  in  1860  and  the 
lack  of  sufficient  support  by  the  remaining  congregations.  The 
buildings  in  1874  became  the  property  of  the  Missouri  Synod, 
which  has  since  that  date  conducted  there  the  Concordia  Theolo- 
gical Seminary. 

c.    Lisbon  Seminary,  1855-1856 

The  second  Norwegian  synod  to  establish  a  higher  school  was 
the  Eielsen.  It  is  known  as  the  Lisbon  Seminary  and  was  located 
at  Lisbon,  Illinois.  It  had  only  one  teacher,  Rev.  P.  A.  Rasmus- 
sen,  the  Lisbon  pastor.  Rasmussen  had  arrived  in  America  in 
1850,  a  bright  21  year-old  youth.    He  came  directly  to  Muskego 


218 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


intent  on  meeting  Rev.  H.  A.  Stub  in  order  to  get  his  bearings 
in  this  new  land.  Stub  was  about  to  set  out  for  his  congregations 
at  Whitewater  and  directed  Rasmussen  to  take  the  road  to  Mons 
Adland.  Rasmussen  set  out  for  Adland's, 
but  met  Elling  Eielsen  on  the  way,  who 
picked  up  a  conversation  with  him  and  con- 
vinced him  that  he  ought  to  join  his  party. 
Rasmussen  did  so.  He  taught  parochial 
school  at  Neenah,  Jefferson  Prairie,  Fox 
River  and  other  places,  1850-1852.  He  at- 
tended Concordia  Seminary,  a  Missouri 
Synod  school  at  Ft.  Wayne,  Indiana,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1854.  That  year,  at 
the  synodical  meeting  at  Lisbon,  the  Eielsen 
Synod  determined  to  erect  its  own  school 
Bj0rn  Holland  and   appropriated   $2,000.00   for   a   suitable 

building.  An  old  hotel  at  Lisbon  was  pur- 
chased for  $1,800.00  and  Lisbon  Seminary  began  work  in  October, 
1855,  with  three  students  in  attendance.  The  names  of  these 
men  are  Bj0rn  and  Syver  Holland,  Hollandale,  Wisconsin,  and 
Olaus  Landsvaerk.    In  "Ungdommens  Ven"  for  1910  BjoYn  Hoi- 


Lisbon  Seminary 

land  gives  a  spirited  account  of  his  year  at  this  school.  He 
studied  "church  history,  penmanship,  composition,  etc."  The 
Augsburg  Confession  was  committed  to  memory  in  toto.  At 
Primrose,  Wisconsin,  June,  1855,  Professor  Rasmussen  attacked 
Paragraph  2  in  the  constitution  of  the  Eielsen  Synod  as  con- 
taining Donatistic  leaven.    Donatists  held  that  a  holy  church  must 


The  Norwegian  Period  219 

consist  only  of  holy  members.  Eielsen  would  not  yield  to  the 
criticism,  and  the  controversy  forced  Rasmussen  to  withdraw  from 
the  Eielsen  Synod.  His  withdrawal  stopped  the  activity  of  the 
school.    The  building  still  stands  and  is  used  as  a  dwelling. 

d.  Augnstana  College  and  Seminary,  1860 
The  third  higher  school  to  see  the  light  of  day  was  Augustana 
College,  the  child  of  the  Augustana  Synod.  The  formal  orga- 
nization of  the  synod  was  on  June  5,  1860,  at  Jefferson  Prairie, 
Wisconsin.  The  Norwegian  contingent  consisted  of  13  congrega- 
tions, 8  churches,  1,220  communicant  members  and  8  pastors. 
The  purpose  of  the  school  was  "to  educate  young  men  for  the 
Gospel  ministry  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  also  to  prepare 
young  men  for  the  profession  of  teaching.'*  It  was  located  at 
Chicago,  L.  P.  Esbj^rn  and  Abraham  Jacobson  were  the  first 
teachers.  Instruction  was  given  in  the  following  subjects  the  first 
year:  Arithmetic,  algebra,  geometry,  trigonometry;  geography, 
history ;  English  grammar,  Norwegian  grammar,  Swedish  gram- 
mar, German,  Latin,  Hebrew,  Greek  New  Testament;  rhetoric, 
logic;  sacred  history,  church  history;  dogmatics,  symbolics;  pas- 
toral theology,  homiletics.  The  attendance  for  1860-1861  was  21 
boys.  One  of  the  students  that  year  was  Ole  Paulson,  of  Carver, 
Minnesota,  who  makes  brief  mention  of  his  experiences  at  the 
school  in  his  "Erindringer."  Paulson  enlisted  and  rose  to  the 
rank  of  captain  in  the  Civil  War.  He  became  pastor  at  Minne- 
apolis and  was  instrumental  in  locating  Augsburg  Seminary  there 
and  is  lovingly  referred  to  as  the  Father  of  Augsburg.  He  died 
April  20,  1907,  with  39  years  in  the  ministry  to  his  credit. 

The   oldest  higher  school  among  the   Norwegian  immigrants 
was  not  a  Lutheran  institution.    It  was  founded  in  1850  at  Green 

Bay,   Wisconsin,   by    Nils   Otto    Tank.    Tank 
Other  Schools  was  born  in    1800,  at   Fredrikshald,   Norway. 

Trained  at  continental  universities  and  at 
Herrnhut,  Germany,  he  married  a  Dutch  girl  and  departed  for 
Dutch  Guiana  as  a  missionary  in  1825.  His 
wife  having  died,  he  again  sought  a  wife 
among  the  Dutch  damsels.  Through  this 
second  marriage  and  careful  business  enter- 
prise in  South  America,  he  is  said  to  have 
been  in  possession  of  $1,500,000.00  when 
he  came  to  Milwaukee.  In  1846  a  Norwe- 
gian Moravian  congregation  was  started  in 
Milwaukee  by  John  Olson,  a  lay  preacher 
from  Farsund,  Norway.  In  1849  Andreas 
M.  Iverson,  a  graduate  of  Stavanger  Mis- 
sion School,  was  ordained  a  Moravian 
missionary  among  the   Norwegians.      Hav-         Nils  Otto  Tank 


220  Norwegian  People  in  America 

ing  heard  of  this  venture  in  North  America,  Tank  resolved  to 
come  here  too  and  lend  a  hand.  He  arrived  in  1850.  Like  the 
Swede  Erik  Janson  in  Henry  County,  Illinois,  Tank  was  a  Com- 
munist and  determined  now  to  carry  out  a  communistic  experi- 
ment. He  purchased  969  acres  of  forest  at  Green  Bay,  platted 
it  like  a  city,  and  9,000  acres  adjoining  the  town.  He  there- 
upon invited  the  Norwegian  Moravians  to  come  and  get  free 
land.  They  came  together  with  Pastor  Iverson  and  a  German, 
Pastor  Fett.  He  erected  a  two-story  school  building,  and,  with 
five  students  in  attendance,  he  conducted  an  academy  during 
the  year  1851-1852.  Mr.  Ingebretson,  merchant,  Green  Bay, 
was  one  of  the  five.  Tank  lived  in  a  palace  and  had  a  library 
of  5,000  Dutch  books,  which  in  1868  was  donated  to  the  Univer- 
sity of  Wisconsin.  H.  R.  Holand  has  written  an  epic  on  this 
romantic  figure  in  "Nordmandsforbundet,"  December,  1924.  He 
relates  that  Fett  sowed  seeds  of  suspicion  which  bore  plenteous 
fruit.  The  people  demanded  warranty  deeds  to  their  land.  They 
were  refused  these  papers  because  this  was  a  communistic  colony. 
They  departed  and  established  a  new  colony  and  called  it  Ephraim, 
which  name  it  bears  to  this  day.  Tank's  old  home  is  now  a  mu- 
seum and  his  town  is  called  Tank  Town. 

7.     Publications,  1825-1860 

The  literary  beginnings  of  the  Norwegian  pioneers  in  America 
are  humble,  yet  noteworthy.  They  will  be  listed  under  four  heads : 
Books  published  in  Norway ;  books  published  in  America ;  secular 
papers ;  religious  papers. 

These  books  are  all  written  to  serve  as  guide  books  for  emi- 
grants or  to  warn  them  against  leaving  the  Fatherland.    Rynning 
was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Christiania 
Books  Published         and  his  book  was   written  on  his  death   bed. 
in  Norway  It  is  the  first,  and  perhaps  the  best,  literary 

effort  by  a  Norwegian  during  this  period. 
Nattesta  was  the  first  Norwegian  settler  in  Wisconsin.  His  ac- 
count of  his  trip  to  America  is  quite  charming  in  its  simplicity. 
He  was  much  surprised  to  find  the  buildings  in  New  York  five 
to  six  stories  high.  They  are  now  ten  times  as  high  as  in  1837. 
Testman  had  tried  a  year  of  pioneer  life  and,  finding  it  too 
strenuous,  he  returned  to  Norway  and  published  this  account  to 
warn  people  against  coming  here.  Haalim  had  emigrated  in 
1836.  He  had  tried  farming  at  Medelport  (Middle  Point?), 
Illinois,  and  Shelby  County,  Missouri ;  had  met  with  one  dis- 
appointment after  another — the  huts  were  miserably  poor,  land 
was  hard  to  get,  work  was  killing  and  sickness  raged  everywhere. 
He  had  tasted  sickness  and  dire  want  and  warned  his  countrymen 
to  stay  away  from  America.    Knudsen  tells  about  the  trip  from 


The  Norwegian  Period 


221 


Drammen  to  New  York  and  Detroit,  June  6  to  September  30, 
1839.  Reierson  was  a  very  competent  editor  who  had  explored 
the  Norwegian  settlements  and  had  chosen  Texas  as  his  home. 
His  book  is,  as  it  aims  to  be,  a  pathfinder  for  the  immigrant.  He 
advises  to  keep  away  from  Wisconsin.  Dietrichson  was  the  first 
State  Church  pastor  from  Norway  to  the  Norwegian  colonies. 
He  writes  about  his  journeys  in  and  out  among  his  countrymen 
and  his  efforts  to  establish  congregations  and  bring  order  out  of 
apparent  religious  chaos.  Fribert  was  a  Dane  who  had  lived  here 
several  years  as  a  farmer.  His  book  has  45  instructive  chapters. 
In  Chapter  7  he  advises  all  to  settle  in  Wisconsin.  LoVenskjold 
was  a  consul  general  to  the  Norwegian  Government.  This  is  a 
report,  dated  October  15,  1847,  describing  his  visit  to  the  Nor- 
wegian settlements  in  the  summer  of  1847.  A  very  judicious  and 
enlightening  book.  Schytte  was  a  Norwegian  physician  who  had 
practised  medicine  here  from  1843  to  1848.  The  title  of  Bollin's 
book  indicates  that  it  was  a  geographical  and  political  handbook 
for  emigrants. 

Eleven  smal 


Author 


books  belong  to  this  class,  namely : 


Year 


Rynning, 

Nattesta, 
Testman, 


Ole 


Peter 


1838 
1839 


1839 


Title  of  Book 
Sandfaerdig    Beretning    om 

Amerika"   

Ole    "Dagbog  :  Beskrivelse"    .... 

Kort  Beskrivelse  over  de 
Vigtigste  Erfaringer  un- 
der   et    Ophold    i    Nord- 

Amerika"   

Beretning  om   en   Reise  til 

New  York"  1840 

Haalim,  Sjur  J "Oplysnins:er     om     Forhol- 

dene  i  Nordamerika"  .... 
"Veiviser   for  Norske  Emi- 
granter    til    de    Forenede 
Nordamerikanske     Stater 

og   Texas"    1844 

"Reise    blandt     de    Norske 

Emigranter  i  de  Forenede 

Nordamerikanske    Stater" 

"Haandbog  for  Emigranter 

til  Amerikas  Vest"    

"Beretning    om    de    Norske 
Settlere  i  Nordamerika".. 
"Vagledning    for    Emigran- 
ter"     

Bollin,  J "Geografisk  Politisk  Beskri- 
velse over  de  Forenede 
Nordamerikanske  Stater, 
i  Saerdeleshed  for  Emi- 
granter"         1853 


Place  of 
Publication 

Christiania 

Drammen 


Stavanger 


Knudsen,  Knud 


Reierson,  J.   R 

Dietrichson,   J.    W.    C. 

Fribert,  L.  T.  (a  Dane) 
L0venskjold,  Adam  .. 
Schytte,  Theodor  A... 


1840 

Drammen 

1842 

Christiania 

1844 

Christiania 

1846 

Stavanger 

1847 

Christiania 

v848 

Bergen 

1849 

Stockholm 

Christiania 


222  Norwegian  People  in  America 


DOCTOR  MARTIN  LUTHER'S 

small   Catechism, 

WITH 

FOR  CHILDREN, 

AND  SENTENCES  FROM  THE  WORD  OF  GOD 

TO  STRENGTHEN  THE  'FAITH  OF  THE  MEEK, 

Translated  from  the  Danish,  and  published  by 

I3Uius    Elitluin. 


Suffer  little  Children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them 
not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.— Matt  x.  14, 


PRINTED   AT  176   BOWERY 

1841. 


(A  Photograph,  exact  size,  of  Title  Page  of  First  Book 
Printed  in  America  by  a  Norwegian.) 

The  books  published  in  this  country,  with  the  exception  of 
one,  a  veterinary  book  ("Dyrlsegebog",  1859,  by  Chr.  Krug),  were 

all  reprints  of  religious  books — school  books, 
Books  Published  hymnals  and  devotional  works — for  use  in  the 
in  America  school  room,  church  and  home.    Bibles   were 

secured  through  the  New  York  Bible  Society 
and  the  American  Bible  Society.  These  associations  handled  Nor- 
wegian books  printed  in  Christiania.  In  1848  the  American  Bible 
Society  published  its  own  first  edition  of  the  New  Testament  in 
Norwegian;  in  1857  the  whole  Bible  was  issued  in  Norwegian- 


The  Norwegian  Period  223 

Danish.  Many  of  the  pioneer  Norwegians  acted  as  Bible  colpor- 
teurs. As,  for  example,  Ole  Olson  Hettletvedt,  Slooper,  Andreas 
A.  Scheie,  Peder  L.  Asbjo'rnsen,  Lars  H.  Norem,  Nils  Olsen  Fjeld. 
The  American  Tract  Society  issued  Bunyan's  "Pilgrim's  Progress" 
as  early  as  1850,  and  some  devotional  books  by  Richard  Baxter 
and  Ph.  Doddridge  even  earlier.  These  books  were  sold  by 
book  agents.  Krug's  "Dyrlaegebog"  was  the  first  scientific  treatise 
published  by  a  Norwegian- American.    It  sold  at  $1.00. 

Elling  Eielsen  was  the  first  one  to  have  any  book  printed  in 
this  country.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  just  as  the  first  book 
written  by  a  Norwegian-American  and  printed  in  Norway,  is 
entitled  "A  True  Account  of  America,"  so  the  first  book  pub- 
lished by  a  Norwegian  in  America  was  printed  in  the  English 
language.  A  copy  of  the  book  is  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Ellen 
Serine  Runden,  a  daughter  of  Eielsen.  Its  title  page  is  reproduced 
herewith.  Note  that  Eielsen's  name,  through  poor  proof  reading, 
is  misspelt.  Note  also  that  the  book  was  translated  by  Eielsen 
into  English  and  that  it  was  printed  in  1841,  at  176  Bowery, 
New  York.  Through  the  kindness  of  J.  M.  Hestenes  and  Mrs. 
Ellen  Runden  the  present  writer  has  secured  the  loan  of  this 
precious  book  and  is  reprinting  the  book,  using^  photograph  copies 
of  each  page.  The  original  Pontopidan's  "Sandhed  til  Gud- 
frygtighed"  which  Eielsen  had  reprinted  in  1842  is  now  at  the 
Lutheran  Theological  Seminary,  having  been  placed  there  by  Rev. 
J.  A.  Bergh,  church  historian.  He  secured  it  from  Rev.  J.  C. 
Roseland,  formerly  pastor  at  Jefferson  Prairie,  Wis. 

Books  were  published  as  individual  enterprises,  as  association 
efforts  or  as  synodical  undertakings.  Eielsen  issued  his  catechism 
on  his  own  initiative;  also  Pontoppidan's  "Sandhed  til  Gud- 
frygtighed"  (Truth  unto  Godliness)  and  the  Augsburgske  Kon- 
fession.  Ole  Andrewson  had  a  printing  press  in  Norway,  Illinois, 
on  which  he  printed  Guldberg's  "Psalmebog"  (Hymn  Book)  in 
1854  and  Pontoppidan  in  1856.  As  an  example  of  Norwegian 
publication  societies  may  be  mentioned  the  Scandinavian  Printing 
Association  and  the  Lisbon  Society.  The  Scandinavian  Associa- 
tion was  organized  at  Inmansville  (now  Orfordville),  Wisconsin, 
in  1851,  by  Revs.  C.  L.  Clausen,  A.  C.  Preus  and  H.  A.  Stub 
and  a  number  of  other  shareholders.  This  society  published  two 
editions  of  Pontoppidan,  1853  and  1856,  Linderot's  "Praedikener," 

1853,  Wexels'    "Bibelhistorie,"    1854,    Guldberg's    "Psalmebog," 

1854,  "Luthers  Bekjendelse,"  1856,  "Fader  Vor"  (short  stories), 
1856,  "Symbolske  Bp'ger,"  1856,  etc.  The  Lisbon  Society  pub- 
lished the  "Symbolske  Bo'ger"  in  1855  and  other  works.  In  1857 
C.  F.  Solberg  published  Luther's  "Kirke-  og  Huspostille"  in  Madi- 
son. This  is  a  very  large  book,  but  paper,  print,  ink,  binding  and 
gilt  edges  are  of  excellent  quality,  fully  equal  to  the  best  in  Europe. 


224 


No 


rweguin 


Pcoph 


merica 


HaMor  Hanson,  specialist  in  old  books,  thinks  that  this  monu- 
mental work  printed  for  a  small  band  of  impoverished  newcomers, 
must  show  the  great  faith  which  these  publishers  had  in  their 
Lutheran  religion  and  their  Norwegian  countrymen. 

The  Norwegians  waited  23  years  before  they  attempted  to 
publish  a  Norwegian  newspaper.  Their  first  venture  was  called 
.  "Nordlyset"  (Northern  Lights),  1847-1849, 
Secular  Periodicals  and  was  published  in  Heg's  log  barn 
at  Muskego,  with  J.  D.  Reymert  as  editor. 
A  full  set  of  this  rare  paper  is  now  on  file  at  the  Wisconsin 
Historical  Library,  and  partial  sets  are  in  safekeeping  at  the  Koren 
Library,  Luther  College,  and  the  Luther  Theological  Seminary, 
St.  Paul.  It  was  a  political  newspaper.  It  favored  the  Free  Soil 
Party,  the  forerunner  of  the  Republican  Party.    The  first  issue 


\ 

4  iff' 

Mil    L  am. 

Mm 

■ — ■ — • 

P      'lUfjl 

Elling  Eielsen's  Home,  Jefferson  Prairie,  Wis. 

bears  the  announcement  that  the  price  is  $2.00  a  year,  or  6  cents 
a  copy.  The  opening  editorial  states  the  aim  of  the  paper  to  be 
to  enlighten  those  of  the  Norwegian  nationality  who  cannot  read 
English,  by  giving  news  of  general  interest,  and  particularly  news 
of  interest  to  Norwegians.  An  editorial  is  written  in  praise  of 
JoYgen  Pedersen,  a  Norwegian  of  Chicago,  who  under  the  name 
of  George  Pilson  had  enlisted  in  the  Mexican  War  which  was 
then  raging,  and  who  had  met  his  death  at  the  Battle  of  Buena 
Vista.  An  American  flag  appears  at  the  head  of  the  column.  A 
portion  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  is  printed  in  Nor- 
wegian version.  There  is,  furthermore,  considerable  war  news, 
market  news,  local  news  and  advertisements.  There  is  also  a 
sample  of  church  controversy  to  give  the  paper  its  proper  pep. 

In  the  following  list  of  papers  it  will  be  noted  several  of  the 
papers  were  Democratic  in  politics.  When  the  Republican  Party 
was  formed,  and  war  was  imminent,  the  Norwegian  editors  and 
the  Norwegian  settlers  everywhere  in  the  North  were  found  on 


The  Norwegian  Period 


225 


the  side  of  the  Union  and  Honest  Abe.  In  the  South  the  North- 
ern sympathizers  were  handled — like  the  Pro-Germans  and  the 
Pacifists  in  the  recent  World  War — rough.  Waerenskjold  was 
murdered  because  he  favored  the  North.  Langeland  and  Hatlc- 
stad  bought  up  the  "Nordlyset"  in  1849  and  changed  the  name 
of  the  paper  to  "Democraten,"  in  order,  as  they  thought,  to  get 
more  subscribers.  Editor  Rey inert  was  a  Democrat,  but  edited 
a  Free  Soil  paper;  Langeland  was  a  Free  Soilcr,  but  edited  a 
Democratic  sheet.  Later  on,  Langeland  became  the  most  ardent 
advocate  of  the  Republican  Party. 

The  secular  papers  are  nine  in  number,  eight  political  and  one 
an  organ  of  the  people  from  Voss.    See  Page  215. 

The  first  church  paper  appeared  four  years  in  the  wake  of 
"Nordlyset."    It  was  edited  by  Norwegian  Synod  pastors  in  sup- 
port of  their  synod  and  its  growing  work.   The 
Religious  name  of  the  periodical  was  "Maanedstidendc 

Periodicals  for  Den  Norsk  Lutherske  Kirke  i  Amerika." 

It  was  published  in  1851-1853.  It  resumed 
publication  in  1856  under  the  name  "Kirkelig  Maanedstidende" 
and  continued  under  that  name  until  1874,  when  it  again  was 
rebaptized,  this  time  being  called  "Evangelisk  Luthersk  Kirke- 
tidende,"  1874-1917.  In  1851  O.  J.  Hatlestad  began  the  publica- 
tion of  "Den  Norske  Lutherske  Kirketidende,"  1851-1853,  as 
organ  for  the  Norwegians  of  the  Northern  Illinois  Synod.  From 
1856  to  1866  Eielsen  published  a  paper  in  Chicago  which  bore 
the  name  "Organ,"  the  aim  of  which  was  to  promote  the  cause  of 
his  synod. 


Fox  River  Church,  1841 


226 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


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Principal    Norwegian    Counties   in   the   Northwest. 


Chapter  VI 


NORWEGIAN- AMERICAN    PERIOD,    1860-1890 

The  Norwegian-American  Period  covers  approximately  30 
years.  It  begins  with  the  Civil  War,  which  called  the  Norwegians 
to  the  American  colors,  and  ended  with  the  organization  of  the 
United  Church,  which  marked  the  beginning  of  a  new  day  in 
Norwegian  Lutheran  church  history. 

1.    Historical  Background 

The  events  of  this  period  are  best  understood  in  the  setting 
of  European  and  American  history.  The  inventions  and  dis- 
coveries of  the  first  half  of  the  century  have  taken  a  new  and 
more  practical  turn.  People  no  longer  are  hostile  to  inventions 
as  something  that  takes  the  bread  and  butter  from  the  toiler; 
they  look  upon  them  now  as  work-saving  and  money-making  de- 
vices. Men  are  adjusting  themselves  to  the  new  conditions.  There 
is  plenty  of  work  and  food  for  all.  Crowded  Europe  hears  the 
call  from  America  still  sounding :  "We  need  you  to  conquer  our 
great  plains ;  we  welcome  you  and  will  give  you  a  homestead." 

In  England  two  opposing  policies  are  conspicuous — an  im- 
perial and  a  reform.    Disraeli  was  an  exponent  of  imperialism ; 

Gladstone,  of  reform.  Ireland  especially  was 
Europe  crying   out   for  needed   reform.    The   Fenians 

demanded  complete  separation  from  England 
and  demonstrated  their  wants  by  insurrections.  Gladstone  was 
elected  to  redress  Irish  grievances.    He  dis-established  the  Epis- 


228  Norwegian  People  in  America 

copal  Church  in  Ireland  and  proposed  new  land  laws  and  a  res- 
toration of  the  Irish  Parliament.  He  would  give  the  poor  farmers 
fair  rents,  fixity  of  tenure  and  free  sale  of  their  interest  in  im- 
provements made  as  renters.  He  went  farther  in  his  reforms 
than  the  English  people  could  stand,  and  so  he  was  succeeded  hy 
Disraeli.   Disraeli  wanted  new  worlds  to  conquer.   His  policy  was: 

That  they  should  take  who  have  the  power, 
And   they   should  keep  who  can. 

In  brief,  during  this  period,  through  the  advocacy  of  reform, 
there  was  much  internal  progress  and  improvement,  and  through 
the  advocacy  of  imperialism,  England  extended  her  world  power 
immensely.  By  defending  the  Turk  against  Russia  she  got  pos- 
session of  Cyprus  and  a  foothold  in  the  Near  East  and  Egypt. 
By  the  partition  of  Africa,  she  got  the  lion's  share  of  that  con- 
tinent. She  entertained  opposing  opinions  as  to  our  Civil  War. 
The  common  people  favored  the  North ;  the  wealthier  classes  and 
the  government  wanted  to  aid  the  South.  Queen  Victoria  was 
neutral.  In  March,  1867,  the  British  provinces  of  North  America, 
with  the  exception  of  New  Foundland,  became  united  into  one 
dominion,  with  the  constitution  of  a  substantially  independent 
state. 

On  the  continent  there  were  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  striv- 
ings toward  freedom  and  some  advances.  The  unification  of  the 
German  states  and  the  establishment  of  the  German  Empire  were 
the  most  significant  events.  Prussia  was  the  leader.  Bismarck 
was  her  chief  statesman,  and  his  policy  was  blood  and  iron.  There 
was  a  controversy  with  Denmark  about  Schleswig-Holstein.  It 
ended  very  abruptly  in  the  Danish  War  in  1864,  in  which  Den- 
mark was  promptly  defeated  and  stripped  of  the  disputed  ter- 
ritory. Austria  was  jealous  of  Prussia's  growing  power  and, 
being  much  more  powerful  than  Prussia,  sought  every  pretext 
for  a  dispute  with  her  northern  rival.  Prussia  quickly  settled  the 
dispute  in  the  Seven  Weeks'  War,  in  which  Austria  was  com- 
pletely humbled.  After  the  debate  with  Austria  was  over,  Prussia 
formed  the  North-German  Union  in  1867.  In  1870  the  vacant 
throne  of  Spain  was  offered  to  Leopold,  a  member  of  the  reign- 
ing Prussian  family  (Hohenzollern).  Leopold  refused  the  crown 
so  as  not  to  offend  France,  but  France,  like  a  cock  on  the  walk, 
rudely  demanded  that  no  member  of  the  Hohenzollerns  should 
ever  become  a  candidate  for  the  Spanish  throne.  The  demand 
was  refused  and  a  French  army  rushed  into  Germany.  The  result 
of  the  Franco-Prussian  War  was  a  sudden  and  decisive  defeat  of 
France.  Germany  established  an  empire  in  1871.  The  empire  in 
France  was  overthrown  and  a  republic  was  built  on  its  ruins.  The 
Turk  was  busy  with  his  outrages  in  the  Balkans  and  Asia  Minor, 


F.   A.    Schmidt,   D.D.    Jobs.  T.  Ylvisaker,  D.D.       M.    0.    Bockman, 
(53)  (40)  D.D..    LL.D.    (38) 


Sven   Oftedal,   A.M.      Georg  Sverdrup,  A.M.      0.    E.   Brandt,    D.D. 

(33)  (27) 


E.  Kr.  Johnsen,  D.D.      Elling  0.  Hove,  A.B.      A.   A    Helland,   A.M. 
(27)  (26)  (23) 


Hans  II.  Bergsland  C.  M.  Wesvvig,  D.D.       G.   M.   Bruce,   S.T.D. 

(20)  (19)  (17) 

Lutheran   Theological  Professors 
(Figure  after  name  stands  fur  years  teaching) 


230  Norwegian  People  in  America 

England  supported  him  and  urged  on  the  massacres.  Russia  pro- 
tested and  plunged  into  a  new  war,  1877-1878,  with  Turkey. 
England  prevented  Russia  from  ousting  the  Turk,  but,  at  the 
Treaty  of  Berlin,  Turkey  was  stripped  of  some  of  its  territory, 
and  the  Balkan  states  of  Servia,  Montenegro  and  Rumania  were 
made  independent  of  the  sultan.  The  oppression  in  Russia  was 
great,  and  men  longed  for  freedom.  This  longing  took  the  form 
of  Nihilism,  and  was  a  fierce,  though  smothered,  volcanic  fire  in 
the  breasts  of  the  lowly. 

With  Europe  in  such  turmoil,  and  America  offering  so  many 
advantages  to  the  poor  and  oppressed,  it  is  no  wonder  that  im- 
migration during  the  years  1860-1890  should  increase  by  leaps 
and  bounds.  The  immigration  to  the  United  States  in  the  30  years, 
1830-1860,  was  4,910,590;  and  for  the  30  years,  1860-1890,  it 
was  10,373,628,  more  than  twice  as  great. 

Norway  was,  on  the  whole,  more  happily  situated  from  1860 
to  1890  than  the  European  nations  just  mentioned.    She  enjoyed 
domestic  peace  and  progress.    Her  merchant 
Norway  marine,  flying  the  Norwegian  flag,  was  visit- 

ing the  remotest  ports.  Lumbering,  manu- 
facturing and  trade  quickened  everywhere  the  pulses  of  life.  The 
law  against  Dissenters  was  abolished  in  1843;  the  law  excluding 
Jews  was  repealed  in  1851.  The  telegraph  was  extended;  rail- 
roads were  built.  The  Storthing  met  annually  after  1869  and  its 
demands  for  full  sovereignty  and  equal  rights  were  being  granted 
one  by  one.  The  consular  question  was  about  the  only  one  un- 
solved. Norway  brought  forth  great  sons  in  literature,  art,  science 
and  statesmanship.  Ibsen,  Bjo'rnson,  Kielland,  Lie,  Aasen,  Vinje, 
Arne  Garborg,  Gustav  Storm,  C.  P.  Caspari  and  Gisle  Johnson, 
are  names  of  representative  literary  heroes  of  this  period,  Behrens, 
Bull,  Grieg,  Kjerulf,  Lindeman  and  Nordraak  are  names  of  rep- 
resentative musicians.  The  poets,  orators,  musicians  and  painters 
were  aggressive,  even  declamatory,  in  their  patriotism.  The  Nor- 
wegians seemed  to  be  proud  of  their  past,  contented  with  their 
present  and  hopeful  of  the  future.  Still,  there  was  a  deep-felt 
longing  in  the  heart  of  many  a  Norseman  to  see  his  people  in 
Vinland  the  Good;  he  listened  to  the  call  of  the  prairies  and 
said  goodbye  to  Mother  Norway. 

The  war  which  Ole  Rynning  in  his  "True  Account  of  Amer- 
ica" in  1838  clearly  foresaw,  came.  It  had  long  been  abrewing. 
It  was  fierce  and  destructive  when  it  came.  It 
The  United  States  called  for  men  as  cannon  fodder,  many  men 
—  strong  men,  young  men.  The  North  fur- 
nished 2,269,588,  95  per  cent  of  them  under  21  years  of  age;  the 
South   furnished  almost  as  many.    The  result  of   the   War  was 


The  N  or  we  gian- American  Period  231 

that  the  United  States  remained  a  united  and  free  country,  with 
freedom  for  the  black  man  as  well  as  for  his  white  brother.  After 
the  war  came  a  period  of  reconstruction.  The  troubles  attending 
reconstruction  were  aggravated  by  the  Ku  Klux  Klan,  whose 
purpose  was  to  terrify  the  Negro  and  the  foreigner.  The  Atlantic 
Cable  was  successfully  laid  in  1866.  The  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
was  opened  in  1869.  Alaska  was  purchased  in  1867.  A  financial 
crisis  took  place  in  1873.  Frances  Willard  began  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  in  1873.  A  centennial  celebration 
was  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1876.  This  brought  the  results  of 
industry  and  invention  before  the  people  to  a  degree  impossible 
by  any  other  means,  instructed  them  in  the  knowledge  of  their 
own  and  other  countries,  and  greatly  educated  the  taste  of  the 
whole  community.  There  were  many  labor  troubles,  strikes  and 
riots.  The  land  was  filling  with  people,  the  West  was  being  dotted 
with  farm  homes  and  villages.  The  railroads  were  extending  their 
lines  in  every  direction,  increasing  their  mileage  from  30,626  in 
1860  to  163,597  in  1890;  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company 
increased  its  miles  of  wire  from  183,832  in  1876  to  678,997  in 
1890.  The  Brooklyn  Bridge  was  completed  in  1883.  The  Chinese 
Exclusion  act  was  passed  in  1883  and  other  immigration  restric- 
tion laws  were  enacted.  The  Census  of  1890  gave  a  population 
of  62,947,714,  of  whom  60  per  cent  lived  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 
People  were  taking  the  advice  of  Horace  Greeley :  "Go  West, 
young  man." 

2.    Norwegian  Immigration,   1861-1890 

According  to  the  American  statistical  authorities  334,340  Nor- 
wegian immigrants  came  to  the  United  States  from  1861  to  1890; 
according  to  the  Norwegian  census  authorities,  346,477  left  Nor- 
way from  1866  to  1890.  That  means  that  Norway  gave  the  United 
States  nearly  one-fifth  of  her  population  during  these  24  years. 
Nearly  80  per  cent  of  this  army  was  under  30  years  of  age,  men, 
women  and  children  in  their  best  years,  strong,  healthy,  vigorous, 
full  of  life  and  hope.  It  was  quite  a  drain  on  the  vitality  of  the 
nation,  and  it  never  met  with  the  hearty  approval  of  Norwegian 
statesmen  and  patriots. 

About  22  per  cent  of  the  immigrants  came  from  the  towns, 
78  per  cent  came  from  the  rural  parts.  Stavanger  and  its  con- 
tingent territory  (Rogaland),  had  furnished  approximately  one- 
half  of  the  immigration  during  the  period  1825-1860;  during 
1860-1890  it  furnished  only  24,559  out  of  346,477,  or  barely 
seven  per  cent  of  the  total  stream.  Opland,  consisting  of  the 
great  Gudbrandsdalen  and  Valdres  valleys  together  with  Toten 
and  Land  near  Lake  Mjo'sen,  was  the  banner  district.  It  contrib- 
uted  50,140,  or   14  per  cent  of   the  exodus.    Norway  is  divided 


232 


Norwegian   People  in   America 


into  20  "fylker,"  or  counties.    The  emigration  bv  counties  from 
1866  to  1890  is  as  follows: 


No.  County                 Emigration  No. 

1.  Oslo  City 24,610  n 

2.  0stfold     12,301  12 

3.  Akershus   18,305  13 

4.  Hedemark     31,681  14 

5.  Opland  50,140  15 

6.  Buskerud  27,047  16 

7.  Vestfold     7,752  17 

8.  Telemark 19,161  18. 

9.  Aust-Agder  9,655  19 

10.     Vest-Agder  II,  135  20 


County  Emigration 

Rogaland  24,559 

Hordaland     16,962 

Bergen  City   4,936 

Sogn    &    Fjordane  18,409 

M0re     12,211 

S0r-Tr0ndelag     .  .  21,893 

Nord-Tr0ndelag    .  16,729 

Nordland  9,901 

Troms    4,395 

Finmark    4,685 

Total....   346,477 


3.    Norwegian  Population,  1860-1890 

Below  is  a  tabulation  of  the  population  by  decades,  genera- 
tions, states  and  mixed  marriages.  The  United  States  Census 
figures  are  used.  The  inquiry  as  to  country  of  birth  of  the  foreign- 
born  has  been  made  at  each  census,  beginning  with  1850.  The 
foreign-born  Norwegians  here  comprise  all  Norwegians  born  out- 
side of  the  United  States.  The  earliest  complete  statistics  pertain- 
ing to  the  number  of  children  of  the  foreign-born  are  those  of 
1890.  The  United  States  Census  makes  no  attempt  to  determine 
the  national  origins  of  its  people  beyond  the  first  generation  (for- 
eign-born) and  the  second  generation  (children  born  of  foreign  or 
mixed  parentage).  The  third  and  fourth  generations  will  have  to 
be  estimated. 


BY  DECADES 

Census  1st  Generation 

i860 43,995 

1870 114,246 

1880 181,720 

1 890 322,665 


Increase 

3i,3i7 
70,251 

67,483 
140,936 


BY  GENERATIONS 


1st  • 
(   ensus     Generation 

i860 43,995 

1870 114,246 

1880 181,246 

1890 322,665 


2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Generation 

1  ieneration 

'  retieration 

Total 

10,999 

64 

55,058 

45,698 

1,261 

1 

161,206 

109,037 

9,503 

3-' 

300,301 

273,466 

48,651 

673 

645,455 

The  Norwegian- American   Period  233 

NORWEGIAN  POPULATION  BY  STATES,   i si  Generation 

State  i860 

Alabama    51 

Arizona     

Arkansas     5 

California         715 

Colorado     12 

Connecticut    22 

Delaware    

District  of   Columbia  I 

Florida    11 

Georgia    13 

Idaho   

Illinois     4,891 

Indiana    $& 

Iowa    5,688 

Kansas     223 

Kentucky    10 

Lousiana   63 

Maine    27 

Maryland    7 

Massachusetts   171 

Michigan     440 

Minnesota     8,425 

Mississippi     15 

Missouri     146 

Montana     

Nebraska     103 

Nevada    j6 

New   Hampshire    ...  5 

New  Jersey   65 

New  Mexico   2 

New    York    539 

North    Carolina    ....  4 

North  Dakota   ..." 

Ohio  19 

Oklahoma     

Oregon    43 

Pennsylvania     83 

Rhode   Island    38 

South  Carolina   4 

South    Dakota    129 

Tennessee     14 

Texas    326 

Utah     1 59 

Vermont    

Virginia     8 

Washington    22 

West  Virginia  

Wisconsin     21,442 

Wyoming    


Rank 

Rank 

1870 

1880 

1890 

i860 

1890 

21 

24 

47 

18 

4i 

7 

45 

59 

40 

19 

33 

60 

35 

10 

1,000 

1,765 

3,702 

5 

10 

40 

354 

893 

30 

20 

72 

168 

523 

23 

23 

6 

14 

47 

5 

19 

70 

40 

47 

16 

79 

179 

3i 

30 

14 

23 

88 

29 

35 

61 

276 

74i 

21 

11,880 

16,970 

30,339 

4 

3 

123 

182 

285 

20 

27 

17.554 

21,586 

27,078 

3 

4 

588 

i,358 

1,786 

9 

17 

16 

21 

120 

32 

33 

76 

78 

136 

17 

32 

58 

99 

311 

22 

26 

17 

108 

164 

34 

3i 

302 

639 

2,519 

10 

12 

1,516 

3,520 

7,795 

7 

9 

35,940 

62,521 

101,169 

2 

1 

78 

56 

54 

27 

40 

297 

373 

526 

12 

22 

88 

174 

1,957 

15 

506 

2,010 

3,632 

M 

11 

80 

119 

69 

26 

37 

55 

79 

251 

36 

29 

90 

229 

1,3^7 

16 

18 

5 

17 

42 

39 

42 

975 

2,185 

8,602 

6 

7 

5 

10 

13 

37 

48 

25,773 

5 

64 

178 

5ii 
36 

25 

24 
45 

76 

574 

2,271 

19 

13 

115 

3& 

^3^ 

15 

M 

22 

56 

285 

21 

28 

5 

23 

38 

46 

19,257 

13 

6 

37 

25 

A* 

28 

43 

403 

880 

1,313 

8 

19 

613 

1.21  4 

1,854 

11 

16 

34 

10 

3S 

44 

17 

29 

IQ2 

32 

34 

104 

580 

8,324 

24 

8 

1 

3 

7 

49 

40,046 

49,349 

65,696 

1 

2 

28 

74 

345 

25 

234 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Mixed  marriages  are  of  infrequent  occurrence  among  the  im- 
migrants from  Norway — less  than  0.2  per  cent ;  among  their  chil- 
dren— the  second  generation — in  1890  they  reached  14  per  cent. 
Among  the  descendants  of  the  third,  fourth  and  later  generations 
they  are  increasingly  higher. 

4.    Norwegian  Settlements,  1860-1890 

During  this  period  the  Norwegians  entered  every  state  in  the 
Union  and  the  eastern  provinces  of  Canada.  Following  is  a  tabula- 
tion to  show  how  widely  the  Norwegian  newcomers  were  dis- 
tributed. They  were  planting  themselves  in  the  Far  East  as  well 
as  the  Far  West ;  in  the  sunny  South  as  well  as  in  the  invigorating 
North. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF    SETTLEMENTS 

Counties 

Geographical  Total  with  Norwegian 

Division                            State  Counties  Immigrants 

New  England    6  67  64 

Middle  Atlantic    3  148  125 

East  North   Central    5  434  303 

West  North  Central   7  612  531 

South    Atlantic    6  438  1 1 1 

East   South  Central    2  194  65 

West  South  Central   3  369  161 

Mountain    5  126  112 

Pacific   3  124  124 

40  2,512  1,596 


Alabama,  Arizona,  Delaware,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  Okla- 
homa, Tennessee  and  West  Virginia  in  1890  had  a  combined  total 
of  260  counties.  They  are  not  included  in  this  tabulation,  because 
the  census  does  not  indicate  how  many  of  them  had  foreign-born 
Norwegian  settlers.  Of  the  other  counties  63.5  per  cent  are  listed 
as  having  Norwegian  immigrants.  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode 
Island  in  the  New  England  states  had  foreign-born  Norwegians  in 
every  county;  Wisconsin  in  the  East  North  Central  division  like- 
wise ;  Minnesota  in  the  West  North  Central ;  Montana  and  Idaho 
in  the  Mountain  division ;  and  Washington,  Oregon  and  California 
in  the  Pacific  group  of  states,  all  had  Norwegians  in  every  county. 

No  less  than  80  counties  had  more  than  1,000  foreign- 
born  Norwegian  citizens.  Minnesota  had  29  such  counties  out 
of  80 ;  Wisconsin  19  out  of  68 ;  Iowa  8  out  of  99 ;  North  Dakota 
8  out  of  53 ;  South  Dakota  5  out  of  68 ;  Illinois  3  out  of  102 ;  New 
York  2  out  of  60;  Washington  2  out  of  35;  Pennsylvania  1  out 
of  67;  Oregon  1  out  of  36;  and  California  1  out  of  53  counties. 
According  to  rank  these  counties  are : 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


235 


LARGEST   NORWEGIAN   COUNTIES 
(Foreign-born  only) 


1890 


ank 

County 

State 

1 

Cook 

Illinois 

2 

Hennepin 

Minnesota 

3 

Polk 

Minnesota 

4 

Dane 

Wisconsin 

5 

Ottertail 

Minnesota 

6 

Kings 

New  York 

7 

La  Crosse 

Wisconsin 

8 

Fillmore 

Minnesota 

9 

Trempealeau 

Wisconsin 

10 

Eau  Claire 

Wisconsin 

11 

Norman 

Minnesota 

12 

Ramsey 

Minnesota 

13 

Traill 

North  Dakota 

14 

Grand  Forks 

North  Dakota 

15 

Goodhue 

Minnesota 

16 

Vernon 

Wisconsin 

17 

Winneshiek 

Iowa 

18 

Dunn 

Wisconsin 

19 

St.  Louis 

Minnesota 

20 

Minnehaha 

South  Dakota 

21 

Clay 

Minnesota 

22 

Lac  qui  Parle 

Minnesota 

23 

St.  Croix 

Wisconsin 

24 

Pope 

Minnesota 

25 

Freeborn 

Minnesota 

26 

Kandiyohi 

Minnesota 

27 

Walsh 

North  Dakota 

28 

Jackson 

Wisconsin 

29 

Cass 

North  Dakota 

30 

Yellow  Medicine 

Minnesota 

31 

Barron 

Wisconsin 

32 

King 

Washington 

33 

Chippewa 

Minnesota 

34 

Pierce 

Washington 

35 

Renville 

Minnesota 

36 

Woodbury 

Iowa 

37 

Houston 

Minnesota 

38 

Worth 

Iowa 

39 

Milwaukee 

Wisconsin 

40 

Winnebago 

Iowa 

4i 

Richland 

North  Dakota 

42 

Pierce 

Wisconsin 

43 

Story 

Iowa 

44 

Swift 

Minnesota 

4.) 

Mower 

Minnesota 

46 

Grant 

Minnesota 

47 

La  Salle 

Illinois 

48 

Marshall 

Minnesota 

49 

Rock 

Wisconsin 

50 

Hamilton 

Iowa 

51 

Day 

South  Dakota 

52 

New  York 

New  York 

53 

Douglas 

Minnesota 

54 

Brookings 

South  Dakota 

Norwegian 

Immigrants 

22,365 

13,014 

6,861 

6,728 

5,955 
5,002 

4,37i 
4,i7i 
4,118 

3,897 
3,821 
3,636 
3,572 
3,5i8 
3,485 
3,387 
3,347 
3,167 
3,038 
2,953 
2,700 
2,641 
2,638 
2,623 
2,600 
2,562 
2,523 
2,507 
2,428 
2,384 
2,373 
i,999 
1,995 
1,992 
1,980 
i,947 
1,934 
1,910 
1,904 
1,871 
1,837 
1,835 
1,824 
1,822 
1,787 
1,770 
1,718 
1,711 
1,632 

1,613 
1,582 

i,575 
1,569 
i,54o 


236 


Rank 

55 
56 
57 
58 
59 
60 
61 
62 
63 
64 
65 
66 
67 
68 

69 

70 

7i 
72 

73 
74 
75 
76 
77 
78 
79 
80 


Norwegian   People 


County 
Becker 
Philadelphia 
San  Francisco 
Chippewa 
Lincoln 
Polk 
Rice 

Allamakee 
Waupaca 
Faribault 
Jackson 
Buffalo 
Barnes 
Steele 
Muskegon 
Kendall 
Bayfield 
Douglas 
Yankton 
Rock 
Portage 
Dodge 
Watonwan 
1  luniboldt 
Multnomah 
Nelson 


;  in  America 

Norwegian 

State 

Immigrants 

Minnesota 

1,527 

Pennsylvania 

1,500 

California 

1,396 

Wisconsin 

1,379 

South  Dakota 

1,324 

Wisconsin 

i,3li 

Minnesota 

1,288 

Iowa 

1,283 

Wisconsin 

1,270 

Minnesota 

1,264 

Minnesota 

1,232 

Wisconsin 

1,165 

North  Dakota 

1,150 

North  Dakota 

1,118 

Michigan 

1,116 

Illinois 

1,099 

Wisconsin 

1,085 

Wisconsin 

1,058 

South  Dakota 

1,054 

Minnesota 

1,049 

Wisconsin 

1,048 

Minnesota 

1.044 

Minnesota 

1 ,042 

Iowa 

1,031 

Oregon 

1,014 

North  Dakota 

1,008 

The  old  Kendall  Settlement  in  Orleans  County,  New  York,  is  not 
in  the  above  honor  roll.  It  had  only  25  foreign-horn  Norwegians 
in  1890.  There  were  18  settlements  in  New  York  considerably 
larger  than  that  of  Orleans  County,  in  1890.    La  Salle  County  is 


CW~^y-J3# 


ZZ.Li* 


,-z4.4% 


Distribution  of  Norwegians  as  to  City,  Town  and  Country 

way  down  to  the  47th  place;  Rock  County,  Wisconsin,  is  49th. 
There  were  over  one  hundred  settlements  more  populous  than 
Muskego.  This  tells  the  story  of  the  steady  advance  westward. 
County  by  county,  state  by  state,  the  land  is  laid  under  the  plow, 
and  every  year  ushers  out  upon  the  western  plains  a  brand  new 
regiment  of  Norse  immigrants,  eager  to  conquer  the  wilderness 
for  Uncle  Sam. 

The  city  begins  to  make  a  stronger  appeal  to  the  Norsemen. 
In  1890  there  were  85  cities  having  25,000  inhabitants  or  more. 
There  were  foreign-born  Norsemen  in  83  of  these  cities,  an  army 
of  61,302  people,  nearly  20  per  cent  of  the  foreign-born  Norse- 
men in  America. 


The  Norwegian- American    Period  237 

Space  does  not  permit  even  a  catalog,  not  to  say  a  description. 

of   the  thousand  and   one   settlements   made  by  the   Norwegians 

during  1860-1890.    But  a  few  words  must  be 

North  Dakota,  1869     devoted  to  North  Dakota  and  her  neighbors  to 

the  west. 

North  Dakota  was  not  discovered  by  the  Norwegians  before 
1869,  but  when  they  did  discover  it  they  claimed  it  for  them- 
selves and  their  children  and  children's  children.  It  is  relatively 
the  strongest  Norwegian  state;  30  per  cent  of  its  inhabitants 
are  Norwegians.  The  state  is  a  perfect  network  of  Norwegian 
farms.  It  is  said  that  a  man  can  cross  the  state  in  almost  any 
direction  without  stepping  off  Norwegian  land.  In  1914  Alfred 
Gabrielsen  prepared  a  map  showing  the  land  holdings  of  the  Nor- 
wegians in  North  Dakota.  The  map  is  reproduced  in  this  book 
by  permission  of  the  Normanden  Publishing  Company,  Grand 
Forks. 

Like  South  Dakota.  North  Dakota  was  a  part  of  the  French 
province  of  Louisiana,  bought  from  Napoleon  in  1803.  It  had 
been  the  familiar  haunts  of  the  Red  Man  for  ages  before  the 
French  traders  came.  The  first  trader  located  at  Pembina  in 
1780.  North  Dakota  was  a  part  of  Dakota  Territory  from  1861 
to  1889;  it  became  a  separate  state  in  1889,  with  Bismarck  as 
capital.  Up  to  1875  there  were  less  than  1,000  whites  in  all 
North  Dakota,  but  after  that  a  great  flood  of  immigration  came 
in,  favored  by  the  advance  of  the  railways — the  Northern  Pacific, 
the  Great  Northern  and  the  Soo  (Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  and 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  R.  R.).  Another  factor  that  aided  the  rapid 
settling  of  North  Dakota  and  other  western  states  was  the  home- 
stead law  of  1862.  Under  this  law  a  citizen,  or  an  alien  having 
declared  his  intention  of  becoming  a  citizen,  has  the  right  to 
160  acres  of  land  free  after  actual  residence  and  cultivation  for 
five  years.  In  addition  to  a  homestead,  under  the  timber  culture 
law,  he  might  acquire  an  additional  160  acres  tree  claim  by  cul- 
tivating ten  acres  of  trees  for  eight  years. 

The  first  Norwegian  to  reach  North  Dakota  and  to  become  a 
permanent  settler  there  was  N.  E.  Nelson,  appointed  a  tax  col- 
lector at  Pembina  in  1869.  That  same  year  Paul  Hjelm  Hansen 
was  sent  by  the  Minnesota  Board  of  Immigration  to  explore  the 
Red  River  Valley  and  write  it  up  in  the  Norwegian  press.  Hjelm 
Hansen  was  born  in  1810.  He  had  studied  law,  but  had  spent 
most  of  his  life  in  journalism.  He  came  to  America  with  the 
intention  of  getting  first-hand  information  by  means  of  which  he 
could  in  some  measure  check  the  heavy  emigration  from  Norway, 
which  was  sapping  the  country  of  its  best  man  power.  But  he 
found  this  country,  with  its  freedom  and  vast  possibilities,  exactly 
to  his  liking  and  could  not  speak  against  it.    So  he  settled  down 


The  Norwegian- American   Period  239 

here  as  an  editor.  On  this  happy  exploring  trip  to  North  Dakota 
he  came  by  steamboat  from  La  Crosse  to  St.  Paul ;  from  St.  Paul 
to  St.  Cloud  he  journeyed  by  rail;  from  St  Cloud  to  Alexandria, 
on  horseback.  So  far  the  journey  had  consumed  17  days.  At 
Alexandria  he  obtained  an  ox  team  and  food  sufficient  for  a 
month.  He  set  out  and  reached  as  far  as  Georgetown,  Marshall 
County,  Minnesota,  returning  at  the  end  of  three  weeks.  He  now 
wrote  his  first  epistle  to  the  readers  of  "Nordisk  Folkeblad," 
Minneapolis.  Again  he  set  out,  this  time  for  Ft.  Abercrombie, 
Richland  County,  North  Dakota,  and  was  absent  a  whole  month. 
As  a  direct  result  of  the  letters  that  he  wrote  about  the  Red  River, 


Concordia  College,  Moorhead.  Minnesota,  Dr.    T.  A.  Aasgaard,   President 
The  Norwegian   College  of  the   Red  River  Valley 

letters  that  were  published  in  many  papers  here  and  in  Norway, 
there  was  an  eager  rush  of  Norwegian  farmers  toward  the  Red 
River  Valley  and  a  quickening  of  immigration.  The  number  of 
Norwegian  immigrants  leaped  from  3.216  in  1870  to  9,418  in 
1871,  11,421  in  1872  and  16,247  in  1873. 

Many  of  these  immigrants  had  the  Red  River  Valley  in  mind 
as  their  objective.  On  the  Minnesota  side,  Clay  County  received 
its  first  Norwegian  settlers  in  1869,  Wilkin  and  Becker  Counties 
in  1870;  Norman  and  Polk  Counties  in  1871;  Marshall  in  1878; 
Kittson  in  1879.  On  the  Dakota  side.  Richland  and  Cass  Coun- 
ties were  settled  in  1870;  Traill  and  Steele  in  1871 ;  Grand  Forks 
in  1872;  Walsh  in  1878.  The  financial  crisis  of  1873.  due  chiefly 
to  excessive  railroad  building,  put  a  damper  on  immigration,  and 
the  terrible  grasshopper  plague  of  1875-1877  held  the  line  of  the 
settlers  so  that  they  did  not  attempt  to  go  farther  west  than  the 
first  tier  of  counties   just  mentioned.    Beginning  with   1877,  the 


240 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Norwegians  added  Barnes  County  to  their  possessions.  Then  in 
rapid  succession  came  Ransom  and  Griggs  (1878),  Nelson,  Sar- 
gent and  Dickey  (1880),  Morton  (1881),  Stutsman,  Ramsey  and 
Rolette  (1882),  Bottineau,  Benson,  Eddy,  Foster,  and  Mercer 
(1883),  and  so  on,  steadily  advancing  for  30  years  until  the  whole 
state  lay  at  their  feet. 

This  state  in  1909  produced  116,781,886  bushels  of  wheat, 
18.5%  of  the  total  crop  in  the  U.  S.,  and  the  Rep!  River  Valley  dis- 
covered by  the  old  and  faithful  spy, 
Paul  Hjelm  Hansen,  has  appropriately 
been  entitled  the  "Bread  Basket  of  the 
World."  It  is  quite  significant  of  the 
democratic  character  and  native  fitness 
to  become  American  sitizens  that 
Hjelm  Hansen  so  readily  became  con- 
verted from  an  avowed  enemy  of 
America  to  an  enthusiastic  friend.  At 
60  a  man's  character  is  pretty  well 
established  and  he  finds  it  difficult  to 
make  adjustments.  Hjelm  Hansen,  the 
Norwegian  patriot,  did  not  have  to 
make  many  adjustments  to  become  an 
ardent  American.  In  recognition  of  his  services  a  large  bronze 
memorial  has  been  placed  in  the  Library  of  the  Minnesota  His- 
torical Society  at  St.  Paul.  Though  Hansen  had  been  a  very 
active  and  useful  man  during  the  ten  years  he  labored  in  Minne- 
apolis, he  was  already  well-nigh  forgotten.  He  had  edited  "Norsk 
Maanedstidende,"  "Nordisk  Folkeblad,"  and  "Minnesota  Skandi- 
nav."  His  letters  on  the  Red  River  Valley  were  published  in 
Norway  under  the  title  "Om  Nord  Amerika"  (About  North 
America).    In  1878  he  had  published  a  "Business  Directory  of 


Paul  Hjelm  Hansen 


Norwegian   Deaconess   Hospital,   Grafton,   North   Dakota 


The  Norwegian- American  Period  241 

Scandinavians  in  Minnesota."  All  worn  out  by  a  life  of  ceaseless 
activity  he  died  at  the  home  of  his  friend,  Dr.  Chr.  Gro'nvold,  at 
Holden,  Goodhue  County,  May  5,  1881,  and  was  buried  at  Aspe- 
lund,  hard  by.  Still  he  was  practically  forgotten  until  the  Nor- 
wegian-Danish Press  Association  advocated  this  bronze  memorial. 
North  Dakota  will  no  doubt  also  do  justice  to  his  memory. 

The  Norwegians  did  not  really  seek  land  in  Montana  to  any 
great  extent  before  the  eighties,  nineties  and  the  first  decade  of 
the  twentieth  century.  Still,  in  1890,  every 
Montana,  1863  county    in    Montana   had    Norwegian    settlers. 

The  Census  for  1880  lists  174  Norwegians 
born  in  Norway.  Martin  T.  Grande  settled  at  Lennep,  Meager 
County,  in  1877.  He  entered  the  territory  by  way  of  Wyoming. 
Sheep-raising  was  his  occupation,  and  Helena,  the  nearest  town, 
was  140  miles  distant.  The  first  Norwegian  in  the  state  was 
Anton  M.  Holter,  called  the  "First  Citizen  of  Montana,"  who 
arrived  in  1863. 

Montana  is  an  empire  larger  than  Norway  and  Denmark  com- 
bined. In  1920  the  population  was  only  548,889,  or  3.8  to  the 
square  mile.  Minnesota  has  29.5  per  square  mile;  Massachusetts 
has  479.2.  In  1870  the  total  population  was  20,595,  most  of  them 
newly  arrived.  Montana,  as  the  name  indicates,  is  a  mountainous 
country,  a  high  plateau  with  tremendous  ridges  and  vast  plains. 
It  has  been  the  paradise  of  the  rancher  and  cowboy.  Said  the 
president  of  the  State  University  at  an  after-dinner  speech :  "I 
represent  a  state  that  has  more  cows  that  give  less  milk,  that  has 
longer  rivers  and  less  water,  that  has  loftier  points  of  view  and 
fewer  things  to  see,  than  any  other  state  in  the  Union."  In  1860 
this  vast  territory  was  occupied  by  wandering  Indians,  and  the 
only  civilized  dwellers  were  fur-traders  and  Catholic  priests  of 
the  lonely  Canadian  missions.  The  gold  discoveries  in  1861  at 
Alder  Gulch,  yielding  $25,000,000.00  of  gold  dust  in  a  few  months, 
drew  an  army  of  adventurers  from  all  over  the  world.  Most  of 
them  were  from  the  Confederate  States,  and  the  state  has  been 
a  Democratic  stronghold  ever  since.  It  was  made  a  territory  in 
1864  and  a  state  in  1889.  In  the  early  mining  days  Montana  was 
the  Wild  West,  such  as  the  movies  depict,  where  robbery  and 
murder  are  of  hourly  occurrence.  Here,  in  1876,  the  Indians 
made  a  last  stand,  and  in  the  fight  General  Geo.  A.  Custer  and 
his  troops  were  annihilated  to  the  last  man.  Since  the  era  of  farm- 
ing and  railway-building  set  in,  line  after  line  of  rails  has  been 
built,  thousands  upon  thousands  of  farms  have  been  cultivated, 
and  homes,  schools,  churches,  villages,  factories,  libraries,  have 
dotted  the  erstwhile  lone  land.  The  scenic  wonders  of  Montana 
now  draw  tourists  from  afar.    Here  is  located  the  insurpassable 


242 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


C.  A.  Naeseth,  A.  M. 
English,   Luther 


C.  M.  Christiansen,  Pd.M. 
Education,  Augustana 


T.  F.  Grose,  A.  M. 
English,  St.  Olaf 


national  parks,  Glacier  Park  and  the  Yellowstone  Park,  the  latter 
being  just  across  the  line  in  Wyoming.  The  slogan :  "See  America 
First,"  was  invented  by  Jim  Hill,  the  late  president  of  the  Great 
Northern,  to  boost  the  Glacier  National  Park. 

When  Governor  R.  B.  Smith  of  Montana  was  asked  to  send 
to  the  Omaha  Exposition  a  picture  of  Montana's  most  represen- 
tative pioneer  he  sent  a  bronze  medallion  of  A.  M.  Holter  with 
the  legend,  "The  First  Citizen  of  Montana."  Who  was  Holter? 
He  was  a  Norwegian.  Born  June  29,  1831,  at  Moss,  0stfold, 
Norway,  he  emigrated  in  1854  and  came  to  Decorah,  Iowa,  by 
way  of  Quebec.  At  Rock  Island  his  party  had  been  quarantined 
on  account  of  cholera.  He  took  his  trunk,  carried  it  on  his  back 
until  he  sighted  a  boat  and  thus  escaped.  He  was  a  carpenter. 
The  wages  were  only  $1.00  a  day  at  best.  He  hired  out  for 
$20.00  a  month,  then  invested  his  savings  in  land  and  had  saved 
$3,000.00  by  the  end  of  the  first  year.  The  panic  of  1857  took 
his  every  cent.  He  made  exploring  trips  to  Missouri,  western 
Iowa  and  northern  Minnesota  more  than  ten  years  before  Hjelm 
Hansen  electrified  his  countrymen.  In  1859  he  lay  sick  of  malarial 
and  brain  fever.  In  1860,  together  with  his  brother,  Martin  M., 
he  set  out  for  the  land  of  Pike's  Peak,  now  Colorado.  In  1863 
he  decided  to  go  to  the  gold  fields  of  Montana,  not  as  a  miner, 


Olav  Lee,  A.  M. 

Latin,  St.  Olaf 


J.  L.  Nydahl,  A.  B. 
Science,  Augsburg 


J.  H.  Blegen,  A.  B. 
Greek,  Augsburg 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


243 


Nils  Flaten,  Ph.  D. 
Spanish,   St.   Olaf 


E.  I).  Busby,  A.M.  C.  A.  Mellby,  Ph.D. 

Mathematics,   Augsburg      Economics,   St.  Olaf 


but  as  a  manufacturer  of  mining  supplies.  He  loaded  an  ox 
cart  with  the  machinery  for  a  saw  mill,  and,  with  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Evanson  as  a  companion,  he  started  the  lon^  march 
through  the  trackless  wilderness  and  across  well-nigh  impassable 
ridges  and  gulches.  But  he  came  through  in  spite  of  deep  snow 
and  wild  countryside.  He  built  his  mill  and  sold  his  lumber  at 
fabulous  prices.  He  became  one  of  the  richest  and  most  enter- 
prising men  in  the  state.  In  1907  he  was  president  of  the  A.  M. 
Holter  Hardware  Company  and  15  other  larger  mercantile  estab- 
lishments, mines,  banks,  land  agencies,  lumbering  concerns,  and 
development  companies.  He  was  also  a  director  of  32  other  im- 
portant agricultural,  mining,  manufacturing,  transportation  and 
commercial  companies.  He  was  a  multi-millionaire,  whose  indus- 
tries stretched  from  coast  to  coast.  The  waves  of  the  Pacific 
splashed  against  his  forests  in  western  Oregon  at  the  same  time 
that  the  foam  of  the  Atlantic  dashed  against  his  copper  works 
at  Bridgeport,  Connecticut.  He  found  time  to  do  church  work 
and  serve  his  town  (Helena)  as  alderman  and  mayor,  and  his 
state,  though  Democratic,  elected  him  Republican  member  of  the 
legislature  and  railroad  commissioner.  He  was  president  of  the 
Montana   Pioneer   Association    for   many    \ears,    and    held   other 


P.  G.  Schmidt,  A.M.      A.  M.  Rovelstad,  Ph.D.      O.  A.  Tingelstad,  Ph.D. 
Mathematics,    St.   Olaf  Latin,  Luther  Philosophy,  Luther 


244  Norwegian  People  in  America 

offices  of  trust.  In  the  days  of  highway  robbery  and  vigilantes 
he  was  often  in  danger  of  life  and  limb,  but  he  outwitted  his 
pursuers,  escaped  their  bullets,  and  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age.  He 
died  in  1921.  His  son  Norman  has  the  degree  of  M.  E,  from 
Columbia  University,  is  president  of  his  father's  hardware  com- 
pany and  other  enterprises,  and  is  a  director  of  the  Federal 
Reserve  Bank,  Minneapolis.  His  wife  is  Florence  Jeffries,  and 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopalian  Church. 

It  is  hard  to  tell  whether  Idaho  became  an  American  posses- 
sion as  a  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  of  1803  or  as  a  section 

of  the  Oregon  Country  which  in  1846  was 
Idaho,  1876  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  Great  Britain. 

The  first  white  men  in  Idaho  were  the  Lewis 
and  Clark  exploring  party  in  1805.  For  another  fifty  years,  after 
their  visit,  the  rich  valleys  of  Idaho  lay  in  mountain-walled  soli- 
tude. Gold  was  discovered  in  1860  on  the  Oro-Fino  Creek,  and 
the  pristine  solitude  was  broken  by  the  fighting  of  the  rough 
miners  and  the  war-whoops  of  the  disturbed  Indians.  Idaho  be- 
came a  territory  in  1863 ;  a  state,  in  1890.  In  area  it  is  of  the  size 
of  Minnesota;  in  density  of  population  it  has  only  5.2  per  square 
mile  (1920).  It  is  the  twelfth  American  commonwealth  in  size, 
being  larger  than  New  England,  but  in  density  of  population  it  is 
43rd.  The  population  of  Idaho  in  1920  was  considerably  less  than 
that  of  the*  city  of  Milwaukee.  The  climate  varies  greatly.  Per- 
petual snows  of  mountain-walls  look  down  on  lovely  temperate 
valleys.  The  sunshiny  days  number  250  a  year.  The  soil  yields 
abundant  crops  of  grain  and  fruit,  and  grass  for  grazing  summer 
and  winter.  The  mines  are  rich  in  precious  metals.  The  railroads 
— Great  Northern,  Northern  Pacific,  Union  Pacific  and  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  and  Puget  Sound — have  brought  the  remotest  corners 
of  the  state  in  touch  with  the  whole  sisterhood  of  states. 

Tonnes  Moller,  according  to  the  researches  of  Martin  Ulve- 
stad,  that  great  chronicler  of  pioneer  events,  was  the  first  Nor- 
wegian to  find  his  way  to  Idaho.  He  came  from  Wisconsin  and 
settled  at  Genesee,  Lotah  County,  in  1876.  That  same  year  he 
was  joined  by  other  Norwegian  settlers;  John  Tetly,  from  Lev- 
anger;  Ditlef  and  Hans  Smith,  from  Manger;  Knud  Bergquam, 
from  Sogn ;  Hans  Tvedt,  from  Lindaas,  Nordhordland ;  and  many 
others.  Their  chief  industry  was  raising  wheat.  Wages  were  50 
cents  a  day.   The  nearest  town,  Lewistown,  was  20  miles  away. 

It  will  be  seen  that  two  migratory  streams  have  reached  the 

far  western  states.    The  main  stream  was  slow  acoming,  because 

it  deposited  the  Norwegians  all  along  the  line 

Washington,  1847         until  the  country  was  fairly  well. filled  up.    In 

1834  it  had  reached  La  Salle  County,  Illinois. 


The   Norwegian- American  Period  245 

In  1840  it  had  reached  a  line  running  diagonally  northeast  and 
southwest  100  miles  farther  west.  In  1850  this  line  was  removed 
another  100  miles  west ;  in  1860  another  100  miles ;  in  1870,  yet 
another  100  miles ;  and  so  forth,  about  100  miles  for  each  decade 
up  to  1880.  After  that  more  than  200  miles  was  covered  pet- 
decade.  Now,  this  slow  and  steady  movement  would  not  have 
reached  Washington  in  time  for  the  Norse-American  Centennial, 
unless  there  had  been  some  artificial  quickening.  The  railroads 
came  to  the  rescue.  They  lifted  the  newcomer  clear  across  Mon- 
tana and  Idaho  into  Washington.  This  happened  right  along  in 
the  70s,  '80s  and  '90s. 

The  other  stream  was  small,  but  reached  Washington  before 
there  was  any  Norwegian  settlement  in  Minnesota.  Martin  Zaka- 
rias  Tofteson  landed  at  Oak  Harbor,  Widbye  Island,  Island 
County,  in  1847.  He  was  a  native  of  Levanger,  Norway,  who  had 
sailed  on  an  English  ship  to  New  Orleans,  and  then,  in  company 
with  a  Swiss  he  had  started  to  journey  across  the  great  American 
desert  on  horseback.  The  Swiss  deserted  him.  He  continued  his 
fatiguing  march  alone.  He  awoke  one  morning  to  find  his  horse 
gone.  In  the  distance  he  sighted  smoke  and  proceeded  to  dis- 
cover who  lived  there.  It  was  an  Indian  band,  and  there  was  his 
horse  in  their  camp.  He  was  permitted  to  get  on  the  horse's 
back,  but  then  he  set  off  on  a  gallop  with  his  animal.  They  set 
out  in  pursuit,  but  did  not  overtake  him.  He  reached  California  a 
year  before  gold  was  discovered  there.  In  Washington  he  became 
a  ranchman.  Wahkiakum  County  was  settled  in  1863  by  John 
Ericksen,  a  Stavanger  man,  from  California.  Also  John  P.  Nassa, 
Ole  Svorkmo,  and  others.  Lewis  County  was  occupied  in  1863 
by  Harold  Hansen  and  William  Johansen,  also  from  California. 
Skagit  County  received  a  Tr^nder  by  the  name  of  Hanson  in 
1869,  by  way  of  British  Columbia.  Whatcom  and  Pierce  Counties 
were  settled  in  1870;  Snohomish  in  1874;  Kitsap  and  Clark  in 
1875;  King  County  in  1876;  Chelan,  Douglas  and  San  Juan 
Counties  in  1884;  Spokane  County  in  1886;  Skamania,  Chehalis 
and  Stevens  Counties  in  1889;  and  every  county  had  its  quota  of 
Norwegians  in  1890. 

Washington  is  a  great  state,  and  is  destined  to  be  a  truly 
mighty  Norwegian- American  province.  In  1789,  the  first  year  of 
our  national  republic,  Captain  Robert  Gray  came  to  Washington 
on  his  sloop,  the  "Lady  Washington,"  to  trade  with  the  Indians 
for  furs.  Gray's  Harbor  is  named  after  him.  He  called  the  great 
river  that  he  discovered  Columbia  in  honor  of  one  of  his  ships. 
In  1805,  Lewis  and  Clark  descended  the  Columbia  and  wintered 
on  the  coast.  Together  with  Oregon  and  Idaho,  Washington  lay 
in  the  territory  held  in  dispute  by  England  and  the  United  States. 
The   dispute   was   settled    by   arbitration    in    1846   and    the    49th 


246  Norwegian  People  in  America 

parallel  was  made  the  northern  boundary  of  Washington  and  the 
United  States  as  far  east  as  Lake  Superior.  Washington  be- 
came a  territory  in  1853,  and  a  state  in  1889.  Warmed  by  the 
Japan  Current,  the  climate  is  equably  warm  and  moist.  They 
have  only  two  seasons  in  Washington — rainy  in  winter,  dry  in 
summer.  Roses  bloom  in  Seattle  in  December  and  pansies  blossom 
in  Walla  Walla  in  January.  Peach  flowers  open  in  February, 
while  the  eternal  snows  of  Mt.  Tacoma  sparkle  in  the  summer  sun. 
Wheat  farms  and  apple  orchards  occupy  a  large  share  of  the 
work  of  the  citizenry  of  the  state.  The  mining  of  coal  and  iron 
will  make  Washington  the  Pennsylvania  of  the  West.  The  pine 
forests  are  the  densest  in  the  world,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  Oregon.  The  trees  are  200  feet  tall  and  20  feet  thick.  The 
fisheries  are  far  in  excess  of  those  of  any  other  state  except 
Massachusetts.  In  1915  Washington's  output  was  158,983,478 
pounds,  valued  at  $5,317,080.  Most  of  the  Washington  fisher- 
men are  Norwegians. 

A  century  ago  five  powerful  nations — Spain,  France,  Russia, 
England  and  the  United  States — laid  claim  to  Oregon  and  the 

Oregon  Country.  Since  1846  it  has  been  a 
Oregon,  1872  part  of  the  United  States,  without  any  dispute 

as  to  rights.  The  country  was  unsettled. 
It  had  been  visited  by  the  American  explorers  Lewis  and 
Clarke  in  1805  and  a  settlement  had  been  made  at  Astoria  in 
1811.  These  American  undertakings  were  the  main  argument 
for  the  right  of  America  to  own  the  land.  The  part  of  the  dis- 
puted territory  now  known  as  Oregon  was  in  itself  an  empire, 
twice  the  size  of  England,  rich  in  natural  resources,  but  empty  of 
people.  The  majestic  Columbia  River  was  called  by  the  Indians 
Oregon,  whence  the  name  of  the  whole  section. 

Where  rolls  the  Oregon,  and   hears   no   sound 
Save  its  own  dashing. 

In  1836  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman,  perceiving  that  Oregon  was 
on  the  point  of  being  lost  to  the  United  States  on  account  of  the 
lack  of  settlers,  tried  to  prevent  this  disaster.  He  rode  to  Mis- 
souri on  horseback  and  managed  to  get  a  party  of  men  to  go  and 
make  settlements.  He  proceeded  on  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
urged  upon  President  Tyler  and  Daniel  Webster  that  Oregon 
was  worth  saving  for  the  Union.  Webster  thought  that  Oregon 
was  so  "far  off  that  it  could  never  be  governed  by  the  United 
States"  and  that  a  delegate  to  Congress  "could  not  reach  Wash- 
ington until  a  year  after  the  expiration  of  his  term."  Oregon 
became  a  territory  in  1845;  a  state,  in  1859.     Like  Washington 


The  N  orwegiari- American  Period  247 

it  is  a  land  of  dismal  forests  and  fruitful  soil,  with  rich  yields  of 
gold  and  silver  and  large  deposits  of  iron  and  coal.  The  capital 
city  is  Salem;  the  commercial  metropolis  is  Portland.  Portland 
is  the  w@rld's  greatest  lumber  manufacturing  city.  It  handles 
one-sixth  of  the  lumber  in  the  United  States.  Portland  is  down 
grade  from  every  one  of  the  250,000  square  miles  forming 
the  Columbia  basin.  Freight  does  not  have  to  climb  into  Port- 
land—it rolls. 

Into  this  fairy  land  the  Norwegians  began  to  come  as  early  as 
1872.  P.  K.  Johnson,  from  StjoYdalen,  Norway,  was  the  first 
arrival.  He  settled  at  Silverton,  which  to  this  day  boasts  of  a 
strong  Norwegian  contingency.  No  less  than  20  Norwegian  Lu- 
theran pastors  have  at  some  time  been  stationed  there — O.  R.  Slet- 
ten,  N.  J.  Ellestad,  C.  M.  No'dtvedt,  J.  C.  Reinertsen,  O.  J.  Olsen, 
H.  M.  Mason,  H.  Hjertaas,  I.  Lium,  J.  S.  Sneve,  J.  C.  Roseland, 
W.  H.  Sjovangen,  A.  O.  Dolven,  N.  Pedersen,  A.  O.  White,  Geo. 
Henriksen,  J.  B.  Byberg,  J.  O.  Arevik,  B.  A.  Borrevik,  J.  A. 
Stavney  and  Leif  H.  Awes.  Oscar  A.  Tingelstad,  noted  profes- 
sor of  philosophy  and  education  at  Luther  College,  hails  from 
Silverton. 

Tennessee  is  chosen  to  illustrate  the  attempts  of  the  Nor- 
wegians to  find  a  home  in  Dixieland.  Tennessee  was  one  of  the 
first  states  west  of  the  Appalachian  Moun- 
Tennessee,  1887  tains   to   be   settled.     It   was   made   a   state  in 

1796  without  previous  territorial  organization. 
It  is  a  land  of  cotton  and  tobacco,  of  hogs  and  mules.  Both 
lumbering  and  mining  bring  large  monetary  returns  to  its  in- 
habitants. 

Tennessee  had  14  foreign-born  Norwegians  in  1860;  37  in 
1870;  25  in  1880;  41  in  1890;  141  in  1900;  89  in  1910;  and  63 
in  1920.  In  1910  the  number  of  Norwegians  of  the  second 
generation  was  153;  in  1900,  131.  The  largest  Norwegian  settle- 
ment in  the  state,  according  to  the  census,  is  that  at  Lawrence- 
burg,  Lawrence  County,  in  south  central  Tennessee.  The  first 
Norwegian  to  settle  here  was  Lars  Syverson,  from  Drangedal, 
who  came  to  these,  parts  in  1887.  In  1910  this  settlement  consisted 
of  14  born  in  Norway  and  their  11  children.  Though  small,  the 
settlement,  in  true  viking  fashion,  managed  to  have  two  congrega- 
tions— for  a  season.  O.  S.  Skattebol  organized  the  Zion  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  Church  at  Lawrenceburg  in  1894  and  had  184 
members.  This  points  to  the  fact  that  there  were  more  Nor- 
wegians in  Lawrence  County  than  the  census  reveals. 

The  Zion  Church  was  served  bv  P.  J.  Fadnes  in  1898-1904 
and  had  102  members.  In  1904-1908  J.  C.  T.  Moses  led  them 
through  this  earthly  wilderness  toward  the   Promised   Land.    In 


248  Norwegian  People  in  America 

1910,  for  want  of  a  pastor  and  on  account  of  an  exodus,  only  24 
remained  on  the  congregational  books.  The  other  congregation 
was  served  by  a  United  Norwegian  Lutheran  pastor,  said  to  have 
come  down  from  Frankfort,  Morgan  County.  At  Frankfort  the 
pastors  have  been:  Simon  J.  Nummedal,  1893-1894;  P.  T.  Stens- 
aas,  1896-1897;  Hagbart  Engh,  1899-1902;  C.  K.  Helland,  1902- 

1908;  T.  O.  Juve,    1908-1913;  Th.   M.  Bakke,   1924 ,  with 

Deer  Lodge  as  postoffice.  Frankfort  reported  72  members  in 
1896;  64  in  1907.  Juve  was  born  in  Telemarken.  He  had  migrated 
in  1852.  Was  a  graduate  of  Luther  College,  Iowa,  and  Concordia 
Seminary,  Missouri.  Had  been  a  teacher,  pastor  and  member 
of  the  Wisconsin  Legislature.  Was  a  farmer  at  Lancing,  Ten- 
nessee, 1895-1913,  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Lancing,  1895- 
1896.  He  wrote  once  that  he  felt  lonesome  in  the  South  and 
wished  himself  back  to  the  Northwest  where  Norwegian  is  the 
language  of  the  streets.  He  died  in  1913,  way  down  south  in 
Dixie.  Bakke  is  a  graduate  of  St.  Olaf  College  and  the  United 
Church  Seminary.  He  has  been  a  pastor  on  the  plains  of  Minne- 
sota and  in  the  woods  of  Wisconsin.  He  has  broken  the  Bread 
of  Life  to  his  countrymen  on  the  outstations  of  Alberta  to  the 
North;  he  now  is  ministering  to  their  spiritual  wants  in  the  moun- 
tain fastnesses  of  the  South. 

Maine  is  chosen  to  represent  the  states  of  the  East.  Maine 
is  called  the  Pine  Tree  State  from  the  fact  that  mast  pine,  an 
evergreen  of  towering  height,  is  the  pride  of 
Maine,  1872  its  vast  forests.    In  1652  Massachusetts  began 

to  govern  it  as  a  district,  but  in  1820  it  was 
set  off  as  a  state  without  any  previous  independent  territorial 
organization.  The  climate  is  cold  and  bracing.  It  is  a  land  of 
variable  winds  and  seafogs.  Lumbering  and  ship-building,  fish- 
ing, farming,  maritime  trade,  are  the  chief  occupations.  Port- 
land is  the  largest  city,  once  the  home  of  Longfellow,  the  poet. 
Longfellow  was  no  mean  student  of  Norse  language  and  literature 
and  had  spent  a  year  of  study  in  the  Scandinavian  lands.  His 
"Saga  of  King  Olaf"  is  concrete  proof  of  his  interest  in  the  land 
of  the  Northmen.  This  book  has  no  doubt  inspired  one  of  our 
young  Norwegian-Americans,  Gustav  Melby,  a  Baptist  preacher, 
to  pen  the  beautiful  drama,  "Saga  of  King  St.  Olaf." 

Maine  has  a  few  place  names  of  Scandinavian  origin.  Thus, 
in  Oxford  County,  there  is  a  town  called  Denmark,  another  town 
called  Norway,  and  a  lake  called  Norway  Lake.  But  these  places 
have  received  their  names  rather  because  there  were  no  Scandi- 
navians there  than  because  the  county  was  Scandinavian.  Wil- 
liam Berry  Lapham,  in  his  "Centennial  History  of  Norway,  Ox- 
ford   County,    Maine"    (1886),    discusses    the    improbability    of 


The  Norwegian- American  Period  240 

the  name  having  been  chosen  because  of  the  presence  of  Nor- 
wegians in  that  town.  And  concerning  the  discussion  as  to  whether 
the  Viking  Norwegians  ever  visited  Maine,  he  says :  "Whether 
it  be  true  or  not  that  the  rude  Northmen  were  the  discoverers  of 
this  continent,  is  of  little  consequence,  as  they  left  no  lasting- 
monuments  of  their  occupancy,  laid  no  claim  to  the  lands  dis- 
covered, and  if  they  occupied  for  a  short  time  territory  along  the 
coast,  they  accomplished  thereby  nothing  in  the  interest  or  direc- 
tion of  human  progress." 

Lapham's  opinion  may  be  matched  by  that  of  O.  J.  Kvale 
in  the  "Congressional  Record,"  March  10,  1925 :  "Norse  sagas 
and  early  histories  carry  reports  of  Viking  trips  to  Vinland,  the 
name  the  first  explorers  gave  to  America.  They  came  in  part 
to  obtain  lumber,  which  was  not  to  be  procured  in  Greenland ; 
they  tell  of  efforts  to  colonize,  of  the  Indian  natives,  trade  with 
them,  battles  with  them  ....  Adam  of  Bremen,  who  died 
in  1076,  a  year  after  he  had  completed  a  book  on  North  European 
Christianity,  which  included  historical  and  geographic  facts  re- 
garding all  the  countries  he  mentions,  tells  of  Norway,  Sweden, 
Denmark,  Iceland,  Greenland,  and  then  tells  of  Vinland,  the  new 
land  to  the  west.  His  book  was  authentic ;  it  was  widely  circu- 
lated in  his  day  and  after Surely  Columbus,  one  of  the 

learned  men  of  his  day,  well  educated  and  informed,  would  have 
known  of  this  book  and  its  contents.  Furthermore,  Columbus, 
a  geographer  and  a  navigator,  had  sailed  many  seas.  There  is 
indisputable  evidence,  contained  in  letters  written  by  his  son  Ferdi- 
nand, that  Columbus  visited  Iceland  in  February,  1477.  There 
everyone  was  familiar  with  reports  of  the  Norse  expeditions  to  the 
wonderful  land  to  the  southwest — Vinland.  He  also  visited  the 
cloister  in  Huelva,  Spain,  in  1484;  and  his  son  again  tells  of  the 
conversation  word  for  word,  between  his  father  and  the  monks,  in 
which  Columbus  convinced  the  monks  of  his  certain  knowledge  of 
a  land  to  the  west  ....  His  dogged  determination  in  the  face  of 
threatened  mutiny  of  his  crew,  bears  this  out.  Columbus  did  not 
conjecture;  he  did  not  hope;  he  knew.  The  evidence  which  he 
possessed  of  a  land  to  the  west  was  supplied  to  him  by  the 
descendants  of  the  very  people  who  had  themselves  discovered  the 
land  of  promise." 

Maine  had  12  Norwegians,  foreign-born,  in  1850;  27  in  1860; 
58  in  1870;  99  in  1880;  311  in  1890;  509  in  1900;  580  in  1910; 
581  in  1920.  In  1890  every  county  but  one  had  some  foreign-born 
Norwegians;  Cumberland  had  171;  York  had  29;  Penobscot,  22; 
Aroostook,  18;  etc.  In  1910,  433  of  the  Norwegians  were  urban; 
147,  rural.  The  first  Lutheran  Church  of  Portland  was  organized 
by  N.  J.  Ellestad,  August  24,  1874,  with  150  members,  of  whom 
80  were  Norwegians.    In   1914  this  congregation  had  300  mem- 


250 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Celia  Oakland  N.  E.  Glasoe  Airs.   Julia   Christianson, 

Sunday  School  teacher,  Parochial  School  teacher  Ph.D., 

57  years  61  years  Author  of  S.  S.  books 

bers,  of  whom  250  were  Norwegians.  The  pastors  since  1880 
have  been:  K.  G.  Faegre,  1800-1884;  G.  A.  T.  Rygh,  1884-1889; 
K.  O.  Storli,  1890-1900;  Wm.  Williamson,  1900-1902;  M.  K. 
Hartmann,  1903-1904;  C.  L.  Rachie,  1904-1906;  K.  O.  Storli, 
1906-1912;  Wm.  M.  Pettersen,  1912-1915;  Anders  Bersagel, 
1915 .  Dr.  Martin  Andrew  Nordgaard,  now  of  St.  Olaf  Col- 
lege, was  an  instructor  in  mathematics  at  the  University  of 
Maine,  1913-1916. 


John  Cabot,  a  Venetian  in  the  employ  of  England,  discovered 
the  North  American   continent  at   Cape   Breton   in    1497.     Five 

centuries  earlier  the  Norsemen  had  cruised 
Canada,  1862  along   the    Canadian   shores.    Jacques   Car  tier 

made  voyages  of  exploration  to  Canada  in 
1534-1543,  on  the  basis  of  which  France  claimed  the  land  and 
called  it  New  France.  In  1608  Champlain  was  appointed  the  first 
governor  and  he  founded  Quebec  as  his  capital  city.  Ottawa  is 
now  the  capital.  In  1620  the  population  of  Canada  was  20  white 
persons.  Indians  and  Eskimos  were  not  enumerated.  Nova  Scotia, 
or  Acadia,  as  it  was  also  called,  was  claimed  by  England,  and, 
in  the  struggle  for  supremacy  between  the  two  rival  nations,  Nova 


J.    O.   J0ssendal 
Author  of  Reader 


Olav   Refsdal 
Author  of  Reader 


K.  O.  L0kensgaard 
Author  of  Readers,  etc. 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


251 


Svein    Strand 

Advocate  of  Parochial 

Schools 


L.  P.  Thorkveen 
Friend  of  Parochial 
and  Sunday  Schools 


J.  N.  Andersen 

Advocate  of  Sunday 

Schools 


Scotia  exchanged  masters  several  times  before  its  cession  to 
England  in  1763.  In  1763,  as  a  result  of  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  all  Canada  was  ceded  to  England.  In  1755  a  great  number 
of  the  French  inhabitants  of  Acadia  were  deported  and  dispersed 
among  the  English  colonies,  many  finally  reaching  Louisiana. 
Longfellow's  sad  but  beautiful  story,  "Evangeline,"  is  an  incident 
in  this  deportation.    This  is  Longfellow's  appeal : 

Ye  who  believe  in  affection  that  hopes,  and  endures,  and  is  patient, 
Ye  who  believe  in  the  beauty  and  strength  of  woman's  devotion, 
List  to  a  Tale  of  Love  in  Acadie,  home  of  the  happy. 

The  population  of  Canada  in  1706  was  16,417;  in  1806. 
355,718;  in  1916,  about  6,200,000. 

Since  the  creation  of  the  Dominion  of  .Canada  in  1867,  de- 
cennial censuses  have  been  taken  in  1871,  1881,  1891,  1901,  1911 
and  1921.  New  Foundland  is  not  a  part  of  the  Dominion.  There 
are  9  provinces  "and  two  territories: 

Prince  Edward  Island,  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  Quebec, 
Ontario,  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  Alberta  and  British  Columbia. 

Yukon  Territory  and   Northwest  Territory. 


Carl    Raugland 
Author  of   Handbooks 
Sunday  School  Teacher 


II.    P.   Grimsby 

Author  of   Graded 

System 


Gabriel  Fedde 
Author  of   Handbooks 
Sunday  School  Teacher 


252 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Laur.  Larsen(  D.D.  (56)       C.  K.  Preus   (23)       O.  L.  Olson,  Ph.D.   (30) 

The  population  at  the  first  dominion  census  (1871)  showed 
that  at  that  time  the  ratio  between  the  British  and  the  French 
was  as  two  to  one.  In  detail  the  British  had  60.55  per  cent;  the 
French,  31.07  per  cent;  and  other  races  8.38  per  cent.  Since  the 
English  and  French  are  both  dominant  races,  the  country  is  bi- 
lingual. The  government  reports  are  issued  in  French  and  English. 

Since  it  became  a  dominion  Canada  has  had  a  spectacular 
expansion.  It  began  rairoad  construction  in  1836.  Its  first  trans- 
continental line  was  completed  in  1885.  The  Canadian  Pacific 
Railroad  contracted  to  build  this  line  for  the  consideration  of 
$25,000,000.00  and  25,000,000  acres  of  land.  The  last  spike  on 
the  main  line  was  driven  November  7,  1885.  This  road  and  other 
intercolonial  and  transcontinental  rairoads  have  opened  up  the 
country,  and  a  vigorous  and  generous  policy  of  securing  immi- 
grants has  peopled  the  wide  domain  of  Canada  with  an  industrious, 
prosperous  and  happy  people. 

Captain  Jens  Munk  came  to  Canada  in  1619  and  wintered 
in  the  Hudson  Bay.  Captain  John  Svendsen  settled  at  Bury, 
Quebec,  in  1857.  Gaspe  was  the  first  Norwegian  settlement  in 
Canada.  Gaspe  is  the  name  of  a  county  forming  the  south  bank 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  right  at  its  mouth.  There  is  now  also 
a  town  by  that  name ;  also  a  bay  and  a  cape.  Two  T  renders,  fisher- 


Th.  N.  Molin  (25) 


J.  N.  Kildahl,  D.D.      L.  VV.  Boe,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
(21)  (21) 

College  Presidents,  with   Years  of  Service 


The  Norwegian- American   Period 


253 


Schmidt   (37)        D.  G.  Ristad  (18)       J.  A.  Aasgaard,  D.D.  (15) 


men  at  Lofoten,  had  come  to  Montreal  in  1859.  Canada  resolved 
to  start  a  Norwegian  colony  at  Gaspe,  and  these  two,  Peter  and 
Ludvig  Brandt,  accepted  the  offer  of  the  government  and  became 
the  first  settlers  in  Gaspe,  in  1860.  In  July,  1861,  a  ship  landed 
their  brother  Fredrik  and  his  family  and  mother;  also  Didrik 
Nilsen  and  wife,  Karen  Brun  and  son  Nils  Christian  Brun,  be- 
sides a  girl  passenger — Ovidia  Olsen.  N.  C.  Brun  was  a  cousin 
of  the  Brandts.  In  the  historical  magazine  "Symra,"  H.  R. 
Holand  and  N.  C.  Brun  give  each  a  vivid  account  of  the  fearful 
experiences  with  hunger  and  cold  in  this  forsaken  and  weather- 
beaten  spot.  Canadian  officials  employed  a  Norwegian,  Christo- 
pher Kloster  by  name,  to  act  as  immigration  commissioner.  Kloster 
was  a  brother  of  the  great  Norwegian  temperance  reformer,  As- 
bjo'rn  Kloster ;  he  was  active  and  successful.  Soon  other  boats 
arrived  with  precious  boatloads  of  hopeful  Norwegians. 

There  were  about  30  families  living  in  Brim's  neighborhood 
and  70  families  scattered  along  the  coast  for  30  or  40  miles. 
They  came  there  to  make  their  living  as  fishermen.  But  the  coast 
was  so  steep  that  it  was  impossible  to  land.  Where  a  landing 
could  be  made  the  land  was  already  taken  by  Frenchmen.  The 
Norwegians  had  to  accept  homesteads  of  100  acres  each,  situated 
in  the  deep,  primeval  forests.  They  started  to  make  lumber,  but 
had  no  market.    They  had  no  towns  or  stores,  no  place  to  sell 


P.  M.  Glasoe,  Ph.D.   (24)     H.  S.  Hilleboe   (31)         A-   G.  Tuve    (29) 
College  Presidents,  with  Years  of  Service 


254  Norwegian  People  in  America 

or  buy  a  thing.  They  had  little  money  and  the  market  price  for 
flour  was  $20.00  a  barrel.  Starvation  and  despair  walked  hand 
in  hand.  Kloster  had  taken  their  money  to  buy  food,  but  he  did 
not  return  for  many  months.  Waiting  time  is  long.  Here  it  was 
also  desperate.  When  Kloster  did  return,  he  had  with  him  only  a 
portion  of  his  intended  purchase.  Brun  had  a  cow,  but  had  to 
carry  hay  five  miles  through  the  woods  to  feed  her.  They  secured 
some  corn  and  ground  it  in  a  handmill  that  some  one  had  sense 
enough  to- take  along  from  Norway.  This  mill  was  busy  grinding 
for  the  colony  day  and  night,  each  one  taking  his  turn  to  grind. 
Those  who  lived  through  the  winter  took  the  first  steamboat  that 
docked  at  Gaspe.  When  they  reached  Montreal  they  met  Kloster 
and  demanded  in  no  mistakable  language  to  know  why  he  had 
not  come  to  their  support.  He  had  invested  the  money  in  lead 
mines.  They  met  also  Rev.  Abraham  Jacobson,  who  had  been 
sent  by  the  Norwegian  Synod  to  meet  the  incoming  immigrants 
at  Montreal  and  give  them  advice  and  aid  and  a  Godspeed  on 
their  way  to  the  States.  The  immigrant  missionary  was  needed 
possibly  more  then  than  now.  The  author's  mother  came  by  way 
of  Quebec.  She  and  her  party  could  not  understand  the  direc- 
tions given  by  the  functionary  in  charge.  He  swore  fearfully  and 
took  a  rawhide,  beat  them  into  a  cattle  car  and  then  sealed  it. 
The  newcomers  were  thus  shipped  across  Ontario  as  "dumb, 
driven  cattle."  The  N.  C.  Brun  of  Gaspe  fame  later  became  a 
distinguished  pastor  in  the  Norwegian  Conference  and  the  United 
Lutheran  Church. 

5.    Churches,  1860-1890 

By  this  time  a  new  generation  of  Norwegians  are  in  com- 
mand. The  ranks  of  the  original  Sloopers  are  pretty  well  thinned 
out.  Their  children  are  in  command  of  the  ship.  The  fathers 
came  to  America  and  became  Americans  by  choice.  Though  good 
Americans  in  every  sense,  yet  they  remained  Norwegians  to  the 
end.  They  could  not  change  their  nature  any  more  than  the 
Ethiopian  can  change  his  skin,  or  the  leopard  his  spots.  They 
were  more  at  home  with  the  Norwegian  language  than  the  Eng- 
lish. The  Norwegian  land  and  its  scenery,  the  home  in  which  they 
had  lived  and  its  surroundings,  the  laws  and  their  lawmakers  over 
there,  the  customs,  ideals,  culture,  all  had  a  peculiarly  sweet  and 
sacred  charm  altogether  different  to  them  from  the  things  here 
in  America. 

"This,"  says  Kristian  Prestgard,  poet-editor  of  "Decorah 
Posten,"  "does  not  prevent  them  from  becoming  as  good  Ameri- 
cans as  ever  trod  the  earth.  It  was  for  the  purpose  of  becoming 
Americans  that  they  left  all  that  was  dear  to  them,  and  came  here. 
They  did  not  come  like  tourists  on  a  visit,  or  like  students,  to 
return  after  a  short  stay.   They  came  of  their  own  choice  to  build 


The  Norwegian- American  Period  255 

their  homes  here  and  to  become  Americans.  No  other  group  of 
citizens  has  sacrificed  so  much  to  become  Americans  as  these  im- 
migrants. Through  their  work  and  their  achievements  they  are 
united  to  America  by  the  strongest  ties.  But  through  their  memo- 
ries they  are  united  to  Norway.  This  is  the  peculiar  position 
of  the  immigrant,  his  tragedy."  There  is  a  tragedy,  thinks  Prest- 
gard,  enacted  in  the  heart  and  life  of  every  immigrant.  The 
parting  was  tragic.  Parting  is  sweet  sorrow,  bitter  sweet.  The 
building  of  the  new  home  was  tragic.  It  must  have  something 
about  it  to  remind  him  of  the  old  home  over  there ;  it  was  the 
holy  of  holies.  The  enstrangement  from  the  children  was  tragic: 
They  did  not  seem  to  understand  when  he  spoke  about  the  land 
of  his  birth.  The  death  of  the  wife  was  tragic.  She  and  he  had 
sprung  from  the  same  root,  had  breathed  the  same  national  atmos- 
phere, had  roamed  about  in  the  same  surroundings,  had  sung  the 
same  songs,  and  had  cherished  the  same  thoughts ;  she  alone 
could  understand  when  he  asked  :  "Do  you  remember  ?"  Her  death 
brought  him  only  sadness  and  an  increased  feeling  of  loneliness. 
His  visit  to  the  homeland  was  tragic.  He  did  not  find  what  he 
sought.  "And  what  did  he  seek?  Without  knowing  it,  he  was 
in  reality  seeking  his  own  youth ;  and  he  did  not  find  it.  He 
found  nothing  of  what  he  sought.  Most  of  his  old  friends  were 
resting  in  the  churchyard,  where  he  could  read  their  names  on 
the  gravestones.  The  people  he  met  were  strangers  to  him. 
Everything  was  changed.  But  he  did  not  realize  that  he  himself 
had  changed  most  of  all.  The  picture  of  the  old  home  district 
which  he  had  carried  in  his  soul  for  forty  years  did  not  seem 
real.  It  was  false.  This  was  not  his  home  district,  his  home,  or 
his  people  ....  Poor,  stripped  of  every  illusion,  he  hastened 
back  to  Christiania,  where  he  took  passage  on  the  first  steamer 
going  to  America.  Neither  steamer  nor  railway  train  could  carry 
him  back  fast  enough." 

The  men  and  women  of  the  second  generation  are  Norwegian- 
Americans  in  the  truest  sense.  They  did  not  have  this  silent,  all- 
consuming,  tragic  sorrow  with  regard  to  the  land  of  their  fathers. 
Norway  was  never  their  home.  America  has  always  been  their 
home.  But  they  have  learned  to  understand  more  than  their  im- 
migrant fathers  imagined  they  would  or  could  and  to  feel  a  deep 
and  a  true  love  for  things  Norwegian.  They  spoke  both  languages 
with  the  same  ease  and  perfection.  They  understood  too,  that 
the  Norwegian  heritage  can  not  be  transplanted  to  American  soil 
without  much  sacrificing  labor.  They  must  prepare  the  soil  and 
plant  the  seed,  thev  must  keep  out  the  weeds  and  have  sufficient 
rain  and  shine.  The  second  generation  has,  therefore,  realized 
very  keenly  the  necessity  of  working  to  transplant  the  culture  and 
religion  of  the  fathers  to  their  own  children. 

It  was  especially  in  the  field  of  religion  that  they  appreciated 


256  Norwegian  People  in  America 

the  heritage  of  the  fathers  and  worked  for  its  perpetuation.  The 
second  period  ushers  in  a  most  vigorous  era  of  church  work. 
Congregations,  synods,  schools,  missions,  publications,  charities, 
societies,  all  seem  to  be  inspired  by  the  need  of  work : 

Work  through  the  morning  hours, 
Work   for  the  night  is   coming. 

This  period  witnessed  also  a  most  intense  loyalty  to  purity  of 
doctrine.  In  the  midst  of  a  babel  of  sects  there  must  needs  be 
many  heresies.  They  could  not  all  be  in  the  right.  Some  of  these 
heresies  might  easily  creep  into  the  teachings  and  beliefs  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  unless  the  watchmen  watched.  And  then  there 
was  the  temperamental  divisions — the  high  church,  low  church 
and  broad  church  groups.  The  churchmen  in  every  synod  were 
keyed  up  to  wage  a  stiff  fight  for  what  they  thought  was  right 
according  to  God's  Word.  They  all  wanted  to  be  Lutherans,  and 
Lutherans  only,  of  the  purest  dye.  They  felt  that  ordinarily  it 
was  a  shame  and  a  sin  to  have  controversy,  but  when  it  came  to 
correcting  a  wrong  or  defending  a  truth,  it  would  be  a  shame 
and  a  sin  not  to  have  a  controversy.  The  doctrinal  battles  were, 
on  the  whole,  carried  on  in  a  commendable  manner.  There  was 
relatively  very  little  personal  enmity.  On  the  whole,  the  disputants 
conducted  themselves  in  a  respectable  manner.  They  regarded 
one  another  as  earnest  Christian  seekers  after  the  truth.  If  they 
could  not  come  to  an  agreement,  they  said  so  and  parted  com- 
pany. They  tried  hard  to  unite  their  forces  on  the  basis  of  unity 
of  doctrine.  They  prayed  fervently  in  the  words  of  the  General 
Prayer  in  their  liturgy:  "Unite  us  and  make  us  strong."  The 
discussions  surely  brought  large  spiritual  returns.  They  increased 
the  interest  in  Christian  doctrine  in  an  age  of  doctrinal  indiffer- 
ence and  heresy.  They  made  the  second  generation  a  race  of 
Bible  readers  and  seekers  after  truth.  They  saved  the  Norwegian 
Lutherans  from  being  swallowed  up  by  the  sects.  If  the  ideal 
life  for  a  Norwegian-American  is  to  live  the  dual  life  of  a  Nor- 
wegian-American, the  doctrinal  discussions  promoted  this  state, 
and  never  before  or  since  has  the  Norwegian-American  been  so 
Norwegian-American  as  during  this  Norwegian-American  period. 

The  first  35  years  of  Norwegian  history  in  America  had  pro- 
duced 38  Lutheran  pastors.    This  second  period  of  30  years  pro- 

,„™  *nnn       duced  614.    Arranged  by  synods  the  new  ac- 
Pastors,   1860-1890  ,  r   n  0^*7 

cessions  year  by  year  are  as  101  lows  on  p.  zrv  : 

As  representatives  of  these  synods  a  list  of  140  are  selected 

almost  at  random  (See  Appendix).     Brief  sketches  of  them  and 

photographs  can  be  found  in  "Norsk  Lutherske  Prester  i  Amer- 

ika,"  commonly  called  simply  "Prestekalenderen."     The  average 

length  of  service  for  these  140  men  was  37.8  years. 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


257 


ORDIXATIOXS   OF   NORWEGIAN    LUTHERAN    PASTORS, 

1861-1890 


o 
> 

l86l. 
1862. 
1863, 
1864. 
186^. 
1866. 
1867. 

1868. 
1869. 
187c. 


W 

1 

o 
1 
1 
0 
o 
o 

3 
3 


10 

17 

Ih 


[861-1870. 


47 


20 


1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1875. 
1876. 

1877. 
1878. 
1879. 
1880. 


I 

3 

2 

7 

3 

13 

I 

8 

3 

13 

2 

2 

1 

14 

I 

M 

2 

15 

6 

IS 

I 

1 

6 

4 

1 

16 

2 

3 

2 

14 

2 

2 

7 

3 

3 

1 

10 

116 

14 

50 

4 

2 

14 

1 

9 

3 

18 

7 

1 

20 

3 

6 

4 

16 

2 

5 

7 

15 

4 

4 

5 

1 

4 

2 

12 

3 

7 

13 

1 

9 

7    1 

2 

7 

1 

9 

6    1 

4 

10 

3 

7 

5 

9 

12 

6 

20 

30 
23 

17 

II 

23 
18 

14 


1871-1880. 

1881. 
1882. 
1883. 
1884. 
1885. 
1886. 
1887. 
1888. 
1889. 
1890. 


194 

29 
26 

34 
31 

29 
29 
4-' 
38 
35 
42 


1881-1890 

7 

129 

17 

68 

47 

43 

24 

335 

1861-1870 

11 

47 

20 

2 

5 

8S 

1871-1880 

10 

116 

U 

50 

4 

194 

1881-1890 

7 

129 

17 

68 

47 

43 

24 

335 

1861-1800. 


28   29: 


20 


33       123 


43    24   614 


258  Norwegian  People  in  America 

In  the  period  1825-1859  157  congregations  had  been  organized 
and    12   other  preaching  stations   had  been   maintained.     In   the 
period    1860-1889,    2,272    new    congregations 
Congregations,  were  organized  and  176  extra  preaching  places 

1860-1890  were  listed.     By  decades  the  growth  in  congre- 

gations and  preaching  places  was  as  follows : 

Decade  New  Congregations  New  Preaching  Stations 

1860-1869 255  13 

1870-1879 935  54 

1880-1889. 1082  109 

1860-1889 2272  176 

These  are  all  new  congregations  located  as  a  rule  in  new  settle- 
ments that  had  no  congregations  before.  In  some  cases  the  doc- 
trinal controversies  split  old  congregations  and  congregational 
organizations  were  thereby  multiplied.  In  many  communities  there 
were  both  Norwegian  Synod  (Missourian)  and  Anti-Missourian 
congregations,  or  Norwegian  Synod  and  Conference  or  Augustana 
congregations.  Many  of  the  congregations  existed  only  a  year 
or  two,  or  perhaps  five,  ten  or  fifteen  years,  and  then  dissolved. 
On  account  of  the  great  mortality  among  the  congregations  the 
actual  number  of  the  congregations  during  this  period  is  consider- 
ably less  than  the  total  number  organized. 

In  the  '40s  congregational  work  was  attempted  only  in  Illinois 
and  Wisconsin.  In  the  '50s  new  congregations  were  created  in 
Iowa,  Minnesota,  Missouri  and  Texas.  In  the  '60s  Indiana, 
Kansas,  Michigan,  New  Jersey,  New  York  and  South  Dakota 
were  added  to  the  church  states.  In  the  '70s  there  was  the  further 
addition  of  California,  Idaho,  Maine,  Maryland,  Nebraska,  North 
Dakota,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  Vermont,  Washington, 
Manitoba,  Ontario  and  Quebec.  In  the  '80s  the  home  missionaries 
entered  Colorado,  Massachusetts,  Montana,  New  Hampshire, 
Rhode  Island  and  Wyoming.  In  all  29  states  and  3  provinces  had 
been  covered  by  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  pastors.  They  usually 
had  three  or  more  congregations  each.  The  pastor  would  live  near 
one  congregation  and  then  serve  two  or  three  or  more  congre- 
gations from  10  to  100  miles  distant.  He  would  also  look  around 
for  Norwegian  settlements  and  try  to  organize  more  congrega- 
tions. At  times  he  would  be  burdened  with  a  dozen  or  more  con- 
gregations before  the  mission  board  could  find  a  man  to  come 
out  and  help  him. 

Never  have  the  Norwegian-Americans  lived  through  such  hard 
times  as  during  the  '70s.  There  was  the  money  panic,  and  to  this 
was  added  failure  of  crops  and  the  grass-hopper  plague.  It  never 
rains  but  it  pours.  But  these  great  trials  did  not  hinder  the  work 
of  the  Church.  Quite  the  contrary,  as  in  the  days  of  Israel. 
Never  has  the  Norwegian  people  been  more  churchly  than  during 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


259 


the  70s.  The  growth  of  the  congregations  was  truly  remark- 
able; the  attendance  and  the  contributions  were  such  as  to  please 
both  God  and  man.  The  total  of  144  pastors  in  1873  increased 
to  310  in  1883;  the  587  congregations  in  1873  increased  to  1,185 
in  1883 ;  the  108,694  members  in  1873  grew  to  an  army  of  193,776 
in  1883. 

There  were  only  three  Norwegian  Lutheran  synods  in  the  field 
in  1860 — the  Eielsen,  the  Norwegian  and  the  Scandinavian  Au- 

gustana.  In  June,  1870,  the  Scandinavian  Au- 
Synods,  1860—1890      ^ustana  was  disrupted.    A  Swedish  Augustana 

was  organized  to  take  care  of  its  Swedish 
members  and  a  Norwegian  Augustana  was  created  to  look  after 
the  Norwegians.  In  August,  1870,  there  was  a  division  in  the 
Norwegian  Augustana,  which  added  another  synod  to  our  list — • 


John  E.  Haugen 

Pharm.D.,   Manager 

St.  Paul  Hospital 


Julius  C.  Hallum 

President  Fairview 

Hospital 


Alfred  O.  Fonkalsrud, 

Ph.D.,   Consultant 

Hospital  Service 


the  Norwegian-Danish  Conference.  In  1875,  the  Eielsen  people 
went  to  work  and  revised  their  constitution.  The  reorganized 
synod  was  called  the  Hauge  Norwegian  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Synod  in  America.  Eielsen  was  not  able  to  see  the  need  of  mak- 
ing the  changes  and  continued  the  old  organization  under  the 
old  constitution.  In  1886,  the  Anti-Missourian  wing  of  the  Nor- 
wegian Synod  withdrew  from  the  parent  body,  and  marshalled 
its  forces  under  the  name  Anti-Missourian  Brotherhood.  In  1890, 
the  Anti-Missourian  Brotherhood,  the  Norwegian  Augustana  and 
the  Conference  merged  their  forces  and  became  the  United  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  Church. 

The  Eielsen  Synod  depended  for  its  supply  of  ministers  on 
the  converted  laymen  who  are  gifted  with  power  to  preach.  Eleven 
such  men  were  discovered  during  the  '60s  and  prevailed  on  to 
accept  a  call  as  ambassadors  in  Christ's  stead.  This  synod  made 
two  more  attempts  to  solve  the  school  problem.  A  preparatory 
school  for  ministers  was  begun  at  Cambridge,  Wisconsin,  in  1865 
and   continued   three  years   under  the  principalship   of   Andreas 


260 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


P.  Aaser^d.  The  second  venture  was  at  Chicago.  Trinity  Church 
on  North  Peoria  Street  had  secured  an  energetic  and  ambitious 
pastor  in  J.  Z.  Torgerson.  His  congregation  offered  to  build  a 
church  so  as  to  accommodate  both  a  congregation  and  a  school. 
The  offer  was  accepted  and  the  corner  stone  of  the  new  structure 
was  laid  August  27,  1871,  on  which  occasion  Elling  Eielsen  de- 
livered the  main  address.  Thus  began  Hauge  College  and  Eiel- 
sen Seminary,  as  the  school  was  named.  Classes  began  at  once. 
Torgerson  was  the  president  of  the  school.  The  great  Chicago 
fire  which  occurred  that  fall  made  it  hard  for  the  Chicago  people 
to  carry  out  their  promises.  Torgerson  tried  for  seven  weari- 
some years  to  maintain  the  school,  and  then  gave  it  up.  as  the 


Ingeborg   Sponland 

Sister   Superior, 

Chicago 


Lena  Nelson 

Sister   Superior, 

Minneapolis 


Lena    Brechlin 

Sister   Superior, 

Brooklyn 


Eielsen  Synod  was  not  back  of  him.  Thev  wanted  a  school  at 
Red  Wing. 

The  Norwegian  Augustana  Synod  was  organized  mainly  on 
account  of  the  language  question.  The  Scandinavian  Augustana 
was  not  thriving  as  much  as  its  Norwegian  founders  had  ex- 
pected. The  theological  candidates  from  Norway  all  went  over 
to  the  Norwegian  Synod ;  the  lay  preachers  were  heading  into 
the  Eielsen.  The  students  did  not  want  to  go  to  the  Illinois  State 
University,  for  that  was  felt  to  be  too  much  of  an  American  insti- 
tution and  would  not  fit  them  for  the  Norwegian  ministry.  The 
Augustana  College  and  Seminary  was  felt  to  be  too  Swedish. 
A  Norwegian  supply  professor — Johan  Olsen — was  appointed  in 
1867;  a  regular  Norwegian  professor — August  Weenaas — was 
secured  in  1868.  He  suggested  that  the  Norwegians  separate  from 
the  Swedes — there  could  be  two  schools  within  the  one  synod. 
This  was  granted.  The  Norwegian  Augustana  located  at  Marshall, 
Wisconsin,  in  1869,  and,  on  motion  by  O.  J.  Hatlestad  it  was 
renamed  Augsburg — the  German  name   for  Augustana. 

The  Swedish  Augustana  College  remained  at  Paxton,  to  which 
place  it  had  been  moved  from  Chicago,  in  1863.  Since  1872  the 
Swedish  Augustana  has  been  situated  at  Rock  Island.  It  now  owns 
buildings,    grounds   and   endowments    valued    at   over   $1,000,000 


The  Norwegian- American  Period  261 

and  has  over  one  thousand  students  in  attendance.  The  Norwegian 
Augustana  is  now,  in  1925,  represented  by  the  Augustana  College 
and  Normal  at  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota,  the  Augsburg  Semi- 
nary, Minneapolis,  the  Canton  Lutheran  Normal  and  a  part  of 
the  Luther  Theological  Seminary,  St.  Paul.  In  1870,  the  Nor- 
wegians proposed  one  more  change,  namely,  that  they  should 
establish  an  Augustana  Synod  independent  of  the  Swedes.  This 
was  granted  and  the  Norwegian  Augustana  Synod  came  into 
being  in  June,  1870,  at  Andover,  Illinois. 

The  Norwegian-Danish  Conference  was  organized  in  August, 
1870,  by  a  number  of  Augustana  pastors  in  conference  with  C.  L. 
Clausen,   who   had   in    1868   forsaken   the    Norwegian    Synod   on 


MB 

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Group  of  Nurses,  Good  Samaritan  Hospital,  Rugby,  North  Dakota 

account  of  an  old  resolution  (1862)  on  die  slavery  question.  The 
occasion  for  the  conference  was  the  coming  of  B.  B.  Gjeldaker  to 
America,  a  candidate  from  the  Norwegian  University.  Gjeldaker 
somehow  had  not  applied  for  admission  to  the  Norwegian  Synod. 
Johan  Olsen  and  August  Weenaas  were  also  graduates  of  Chris- 
tiania,  so  there  was  now  no  necessity  for  uniting  with  the  Nor- 
wegian Synod.  It  was  suggested :  Why  not  start  a  new  synod 
with  a  different  name?  This  was  done — the  name  chosen  was 
Conference,  Norwegian-Danish  Conference,  so  as  to  gather  the 
scattered  Danes  along  with  the  Norwegians.  The  Norwegian 
Augustana  was  also  entitled  Norwegian-Danish  and  for  the  same 
reason.  In  1869  the  Swedes  of  the  Augustana  Synod  had  46 
pastors ;  the  Norwegians,  only  19.  Twelve  of  the  19  went  along 
in  the  making  of  the  new  synod,  and  only  7  remained  in  the  Nor- 


262  Norwegian  People  in  America 

wegian  Augustana.  The  Augustana  never  fully  recovered  from 
this  blow.  It  claimed  the  school  at  Marshall,  and  forbade  Ween- 
aas  the  use  of  its  buildings.  Weenaas,  nothing  daunted,  turned 
his  own  residence  into  a  seminary,  until,  in  1872,  Augsburg  Semi- 
nary was  removed  to  its  new  quarters  at  Minneapolis.  There 
Father  Ole  Paulson  was  on  hand  to  welcome  teachers  and  stu- 
dents. The  Conference  was  fortunate  in  getting  strong  leaders 
into  its  school  and  chief  offices — Weenaas,  Sven  Oftedal,  Georg 
Sverdrup,  Gjermund  Hoyme,  and^  others.  Oftedal  and  Sverdrup 
were  university  graduates  from  Christiania  and  fully  as  able  in 
debate  and  strategy  as  their  opponents  in  the  rival  synods.  They 
carried  on  an  aggressive  fight,  attacking  with  broadsides  the  weak 
points  in  "Wisconsinismen,"  as  they  termed  the  marks  of  peculi- 
arity in  the  Norwegian  Synod.  Oftedal  had  been  here  hardly  a  year 
when  he  issued  his  famous  "Aaben  Erklaering"  (Open  Declara- 
tion), which  he  threw  into  the  camp  of  the  Norwegian  Synod 
like  a  bomb  shell.  He  and  Sverdrup  paid  more  attention  to  polity 
than  to  doctrine  and  established  a  consciousness  of  there  being 
a  great  difference  in  polity  between  the  synods  and  the  Confer- 
ence. The  congregations  in  the  Conference  had  greater  freedom 
than  in  the  synods,  said  they.  They  began  also  to  develop  the 
idea  of  "living  congregations"  as  opposed  to  the  "dead  congrega- 
tions" of  the  synods.  Naturally,  the  Conference  as  a  body  could 
not  keep  pace  with  Sverdrup  and  Oftedal,  and  two  parties  arose 
— the  New  (Nye  Retning)  championing  the  Augsburg  professors, 
and  the  Old  (Gamle  Retning),  opposing  them.  J.  A.  Bergh,  N. 
C.  Brun  and  N.  E.  B0e  are  well-known  names  in  the  "Gamle 
Retning." 

The  Hauge  Synod  was  a  re-organization  of  the  Eielsen  and 
dates  its  origin  from  1846  instead  of  1876.  The  Eielsen  Synod 
still  writes   1846  as  the  year  of  its  genesis. 

The  Anti-Missourian  Brotherhood  was  a  child  of  doctrinal 
strife.  During  the  '50s  there  was  strife  between  Eielsen  and  the 
Norwegian  Synod;  during  the  '60s,  between  Augustana  and  the 
Norwegian  Synod ;  during  the  '70s,  between  the  Conference  and 
the  Norwegian  Synod ;  and  during  the  '80s,  between  the  Anti- 
Missourians  and  the  Norwegian  Synod.  This  last  strife  was  a 
civil  war  and  by  far  the  most  intense  ever  waged  by  Norwegians 
anywhere  in  any  cause.  The  war  had  raged  among  the  Germans, 
especially  between  the  Missouri  and  the  Joint  Ohio  Synod,  be- 
fore the  Norwegians  were  drawn  into  it.  Professor  F.  A. 
Schmidt,  a  German,  professor  at  Luther  Seminary,  Madison, 
Wisconsin,  and  Professor  Ole  B.  Asperheim,  a  Norwegian,  pro- 
fessor at  Concordia  Seminary,  Springfield,  Illinois,  may  be  said 
to  have  brought  the  Norwegian  Synod  into  the  fray.  These  men 
were   Anti-Missourians.     They  accused   Missouri   of    Calvinism; 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


263 


Missouri  charged  them  with  Synergism.  To  save  the  Norwegian 
Synod  from  a  threatened  division,  the  membership  in  the  Synodi- 
cal  Conference  was  given  up,  in  1883.    In  1884,  Dr.  U.  V.  Koren 

wrote  a  "RedegjoYelse,"  in  which  he 
stated  in  the  form  of  theses  the 
position  of  the  Norwegian  Synod,  in 
favor  of  Missouri.  It  was  signed 
by  87  pastors  and  professors.  Drs. 
F.  A.  Schmidt  and  M.  O.  Bo'ckman, 
in  1886,  were  chosen  by  the  Anti- 
Missourians  to  start  a  new  seminary 
— the  Lutheran  Divinity  School,  at 
Northfield,  Minnesota.  St.  Olaf's 
School,  at  that  place,  was  made  a 
complete  college — St.  Olaf  College 
— and  was  promised  the  support  of 
the  new  body. 

The  last  of  the  synods  to  be 
founded  during  this  period  is  the 
United  Norwegian  Lutheran 
Church  of  America.  It  was 
founded  June  13.  1890,  at  Minneapolis,  Minnesota.  And  the 
event  is  of  so  great  importance  that  it  easily  marks  an  epoch,  not 
only  in  Norwegian  Lutheran  church  history,  but  also  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Norwegians  without  regard  to  church  connections. 
In  fact,  it  is  the  beginning  of  a  movement  in  church  history  which 
has  great  possibilities  in  store. 

The  United  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  was  a  union  of 
three  competing  Norwegian  Lutheran  synods,  sprung  from  the 
same  Mother  Church,  with  the  same  doctrines  and  rituals,  the 
same  language  and  customs.    They  differed  only  in  temperamental 


Gjermtind  Hoyme, 
Church    Statesman 


E.  J.   Homme 
the    Norwegian    Francke 


Homme's  Orphanage  (1881) 


264 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


matters  and  minor  practices.  Some  had  been  brought  up  in  a 
high  church  atmosphere;  some  in  low  church;  just  now  they  were 
all  broad  church  organizations.  Several  free  conferences  were 
called— St.  Ansgar,  1881;  Roland,  1882;  Holden,  1883;  Gol, 
1884;  Chicago,  1885;  Kenyon,  1886;  Willmar,  1887;  Baldwin, 
1888;  Scandinavia,  1888 — for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  doc- 
trinal basis.  They  found  that  they  were  in  hearty  agreement  on 
all  the  essentials  and  mostly  everything  else  beside.  They  decided 
to  combine  their  camps,  for  in  unity  there  is  strength.  And  so, 
on  June  13,  1890,  the  men  of  Augustana  met  at  Augsburg  Semi- 


Canton  Normal  School,  1920 —    John  X.  Brown,  President 
(Former  Augustana  College,  1884-1918) 


nary  and  ratified  the  proposed  constitution  of  a  United  Church ; 
the  Anti-Missourians  met  in  St.  Paul's  of  the  Hauge  Synod  and 
voted  for  the  new  constitution ;  and  the  Conference  people  as- 
sembled at  Trinity  Church  and  accepted  the  constitution.  This 
done,  the  three  groups  met  in  joint  session  at  Trinity  Church. 
The  Conference  men  took  places  in  the  rear.  The  Anti-Mis- 
sourians came  marching  to  the  front,  at  which  the  assembly  burst 
forth  into  a  hymn  of  praise:  "God's  Word  Is  Our  Great  Herit- 
age." Then  the  Augustana  delegation  entered  in  stately  proces- 
sion, during  which  another  song :  "Praise  to  Thee  and  Adoration," 
pealed  forth  from  a  thousand  thankful  hearts.  Thereupon  the 
convention  united  in  the  "Te  Deum,"  prayer  and  confession  and 
another  hymn  of  praise,  "Min  Sjael,  min  Sjael,  lov  Herren"  (My 


The  Norwegian- American  Period  265 

Soul,  Now  Praise  Thy  Maker).  After  this  the  United  Norwegian 
Lutheran  Church  of  America  was  formally  organized.  Gjermund 
Hoyme  of  the  Conference  was  elected  president;  L.  M.  BioYn 
of  the  Anti-Missourian  Brotherhood,  vice  president;  J.  N.  Kil- 
dahl  of  the  Anti-Missourians,  secretary;  Hon.  Lars  Swenson  of 
the  Conference,  treasurer.  Later,  in  1894  (1894-1917),  J.  C. 
Roseland  of  the  Augustana  served  as  secretary  of  the  United 
Church. 

In  the  evening  a  festive  gathering  was  held  at  the  Coliseum, 
which  had  seating  room  for  five  thousand  people.  It  was  filled 
to  overflowing.  The  atmosphere  was  filled  with  joy  and  thanks- 
giving: "The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  us;  whereof  we 
are  glad"  (Ps.  126:3).  At  the  annual  conventions  of  the  United 
Church  from  1890  to  1917  the  attendance  ranged  from  3,000  to 
15,000.  The  United  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  was  the  first 
merger  of  Norwegian  Lutheran  synods  in  America.  It  was  the 
first  merger  of  any  Lutheran  synods  in  America,  at  which  the 
merging  bodies  became  extinct.  It  was  the  first  merger  of  its 
kind  among  all  the  denominations  of  the  United  States.  The 
tendency  in  the  United  States  is  to  talk  about  union,  but  to  keep 
on  multiplying  denominations  and  organizations.  In  the  United 
States  Religious  Census  for  1890  143  distinct  religious  bodies 
are  listed;  in  1906,  186  religious  bodies;  and  in  1916,  202. 

The  growth  of  the  synods  from  1860  to  1890  can  be  seen 
from  this  table: 

PASTORS,  1860-1890 

Synod                i860  1870  1880  1890 

Eielsen     3  14  3  8 

Norwegian     17  60  155  138 

Scandinavian  Augustana   9  65  . . 

Norwegian  Augustana 9  24  28 

Conference     14  60  115 

Hauge     . .  18  66 

*Anti-Missourian   . .  78  98 

United    Norwegian     . .  . .  241 

^Figures  from  1886. 

The  synods  increased  from  a  total  of  144  pastors  in  1873  to 
310  in  1883;  from  587  congregations  in  1873  to  1,185  in  1883; 
from  108,694  members  in  1873  to  193,766  in  1883.  The  Nor- 
wegian population  increased  from  1880  to  1890  125  per  cent;  the 
membership  in  the  synods  increased  only  67  per  cent.  Still  many 
new  congregations  were  organized — approximately  600,  and  about 
600  new  pastors  were  secured.  The  largest  congregation  was  the 
one  at  Scandinavia,  Wisconsin,  having  1,530  members;  the 
smallest  was  at  Juanita,  Nebraska,  having  only  3  members.    Ac- 


266  Norwegian  People  in  America 

cording  to  the  United  States  Census  for  1890  the  congregations 
of  the  Norwegian  Synod,  Hauge  Synod  and  the  United  Church 
were  distributed  as  follows: 

CONGREGATIONS,  1890 

Norwegian      Hauge 

State  Synod  Synod 

California   3  o 

Colorado     1  o 

Idaho   1  o 

Illinois   14  10 

Indiana    2  1 

Iowa 40  17 

Kansas    1  1 

Maine    o  o 

Maryland    o  o 

Massachusetts    2  o 

Michigan 14  1 

Minnesota     —  164  55 

Missouri    2  o 

Montana      3  o 

Nebraska    21  8 

New    Hampshire    o  o 

New  Jersey   1  o 

New    York     5  o 

N  orth  Dakota   53  16 

Ohio     4  o 

Oregon    3  o 

South    Dakota    46  36 

Texas 4  o 

Washington    1  2 

Wisconsin     95  28 

Total 489  175  1122  1786 

The  Norwegian  Synod  in  1890  owned  275  church  edifices  and 
182  "halls  for  church  services,  with  a  total  valuation  of  $806,825.00; 
the  Hauge  Synod  owned  100  churches  and  75  halls,  valued  at 
$214,395.00;  the  United  Church  owned  669  churches  and  393 
halls,  valued  at  $1,544,455.00. 

In  1853  the  Norwegian  Synod  had  38  congregations  and  seven 
pastors ;  in  1862  over  100  congregations  and  20  pastors,  of  whom 
two  were  also  professors.  The  congregations  were  small,  but 
widely  scattered  over  the  prairies,  and  the  road  to  the  church, 
school  house,  log  hut  or  sod  cellar,  where  services  were  held,  was 
pretty  long  for  the  average  church  goer.  The  roads  were  poor 
at  the  best,  and  the  conveyances  were  heavy  and  slow.  Rev.  B.  J. 
Muus  walked  from  Goodhue  County  to  Stearns  County,  Minne- 
sota, with  a  satchel  on  his  back.  The  air  line  distance  was  100 
miles ;  the  actual  route  taken  was  over  250.  The  "Big  Woods" 
lay  between  him  and  his  destination,  almost  impassable.  Rivers, 
swamps  and  lakes  beset  his  path.    Muus  swam  the  streams  and 


United 

Church 

Tot 

0 

3 

0 

1 

0 

0 

27 

5i 

0 

3 

113 

179 

7 

9 

2 

2 

1 

1 

0 

2 

27 

42 

405 

624 

1 

3 

2 

5 

13 

42 

1 

1 

0 

1 

1 

6 

162 

231 

0 

4 

5 

8 

148 

230 

0 

4 

19 

22 

187 

310 

The  Norwegian- American  Period  267 

walked  around  the  lakes  and  swamps,  burrowed  his  way  through 
the  woods  and  reached  Meeker,  Kandiyohi  and  Stearns.  There 
he  organized  new  congregations,  baptized  a  large  number  of 
children,  confirmed  several  groups  of  overgrown  youth,  and 
promised  to  find  some  one  to  send  them  as  pastor.  Part  of  the 
route  on  the  plains  he  covered  in  an  oxcart,  as  in  the  accompany- 
ing picture  sketched  by  Eben  E.  Lawson  of  Willmar. 

In  1872  the  Eielsen  Synod  had  17  pastors;  the  Norwegian 
Augustana  had  8;  the  Conference  had  36;  the  Norwegian  Synod 
had  74 — total  125.  The  pastors  of  the  Norwegian  Synod  served 
335  congregations  and  77,415  souls;  the  pastors  of  the  Confer- 


UTT^T: 


"V 


A  Crow  River  Farmer  and  B.  J.  Minis  Rounding  up  the  Settlers,  1861 

ence  had  121  congregations  and  16,409  souls.  Augustana  and 
Eielsen  pastors  had  together  about  100  congregations  and  10,000 
members.  There  was  a  gain  of  400  congregations  during  the 
decade.  The  line  of  Norwegian  congregations  was  far-flung,  and 
extended  from  New  York  to  California,  from  Canada  to  Texas. 
With  regard  to  the  Danes  in  the  Norwegian  synods,  the  Nor- 
wegian-Danish Augustana  Synod  never  had  a  single  Danish  pastor 
on  its  roster.  The  Norwegian-Danish  Conference  had  a  total  of 
11  foreign-born  Danes  in  the  ministry — Anton  M.  Andersen 
(ordained  1874);  Hans  Peder  Berthelsen  (1879);  Gotlieb  B. 
Christiansen  (1881);  Claus  L.  Clausen  (1843);  Adam  Dan 
(1871);  Hans  Hansen  (1874);  Niels  Madsen  (1874);  Anders 
Rasmussen   (1883);  M.  C.  H.  Rohe   (1877);  Hans  M.  Thorup 


268  Norwegian  People  in  America 

(1872);  and  Peter  J.  0stergaard  (1884).  The  Danes  withdrew 
from  the  Conference  in  order  to  form  a  Danish  Synod.  In  1884 
they  organized  the  Danish  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  Associa- 
tion. In  1896  they  united  with  another  Danish  body,  the  Danish 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  America,  and  organized  the 
United  Danish  Lutheran  Church,  still  in  operation,  with  head- 
quarters at  Blair,  Nebraska.  The  Norwegian  Synod,  while  never 
making  a  bid  for  the  support  of  the  Danes,  in  1903  could  boast 
of  24  Danish  pastors  and  twice  that  number  of  Danish  congrega- 
tions. Among  the  Danish  names  are:  Johannes  N.  Andersen 
(ordained  1895);  Hans  Peter  Berthelsen  (1894);  Johannes  R. 
Birkelund  (1897)  ;  Peter  P.  Blicher  (1906)  ;  Paul  Borup  (1898)  ; 
Peter  N.  M.  Carlson  (1899);  Severin  E.  S.  Meisel  (1893); 
Nils  Pedersen  (1877)  ;  Emil  J.  Petersen  (1879)  ;  Christian  Falck 
(1903);  Hemming  H.  Frost  (1894);  Lars  P.  Hansen  (1894); 
Sjzfren  Hansen  (1882)  ;  Anders  K.  Henriksen  (1908)  ;  Anders  H. 
Jensen  (1898)  ;  Eskild  P.  Jensen  (1871)  ;  Frederik  C.  M.  Jensen 
(1883)  ;  Lars  P.  Jensen  (1884)  ;  Jens  Johansen  (1880)  ;  Anders 
Larsen  (1878);  Lauritz  P.  Lund  (1909);  Svend  G.  A.  Marck- 
mann  (1910)  ;  Julius  C.  Molil  (1891)  ;  Carl  J.  O.  Nielsen  (1901)  ; 
Hans  C.  Olsen  (1895)  ;  Lauritz  Rasmussen  (1908)  ;  Harold  W. 
So-rensen  (1902);  Ditlev  W.  Turnjzfe  (1908);  Jens  D.  Wein 
(1904)  ;  Anders  O.  White  (1903)  ;  and  Markus  F.  Wiese  (1869). 
The  Hauge  Synod  has  in  Martin  J.  Westphal  (1890)  a  good 
representative  of  the  Danes.  The  United  Church  numbered 
among  its  clergy  such  Danes  as  Christian  H.  Hjortholm  (1896), 
Niels  A.  Stubkjaer  (1893),  Nils  P.  Thorp  (1897)  and  Nils  Juel 
Holm  (1907).  Nils  J.  Thomasberg  (1893)  and  James  Falk 
(1918),  at  one  time  of  the  Lutheran  Free  Church,  are  Danes; 
so  also  Lars  C.  Pedersen  of  the  Lutheran  Brethren  Synod  (1914). 
Of  pastors  from  other  nationalities  may  be  mentioned :  Alfred 
E.  Backman  (1877),  Heinrich  Thurunen  (1885)  and  William 
Williamson  (1887),  born  in  Finland.  Alfred  Picard  (1908)  is 
a  native  of  France.  John  Bjarnason  (1884)  ,  Hans  B.  Thorgrim- 
sen  (1882)  and  Paul  Thorlakson  (1875)  hailed  from  Iceland. 
Rudolf  H.  Gurland  (1893),  Emanuel  N.  Heimann  (1903), 
Theodor  C.  Meyersohn  (1881)  and  John  Resnick  (1899)  were 
Russian  Jews.  Frederick  H.  Carlson  (1869),  Karl  O.  Eliasen 
(1910),  Martin  Engen  (1893),  Anders  J.  Hulteng  (1887),  Carl 
W.  Landahl  (1896),  GoYan  Norbeck  (1885),  Nicholaus  Oker- 
lund  (1902),  Olof  Olson  (1906),  Gustav  Rast  (1891),  Johan 
O.  Seleen  (1871)',  Johannes  Telleen  (1907),  Gustav  Westerlund 
(1887)  and  Albert  Wihlborg  (1892),  were  born  in  Sweden.  Hans 
P.  Duborg  (1860),  Claus  H.  Fechtenburg  (1897),  Max  F.  Momm- 
sen  (1909),  Peter  Mortensen  (1887),  Carl  Otte  (1882),  Friedrich 
A.  Schmidt  (1861),  Vijlads  B.  Skov  (1889)  and  Hans  J.  Wein 


The  N  or  we  gian- American  Period  269 

look  to  Germany  as  their  native  land.  Paul  Werber  (1882)  was 
a  Galician  Jew.  Gabriel  N.  Isolany  (1893),  Christian  Pedersen 
(1908),  Ludvig  C.  C.  Pedersen  (1899)  and  Eugene  A.  Rateaver 
(1911)  came  from  Madagascar.  Heinrich  Otte  (1896)  came 
from  Natal;  Christopher  U.  Faye  (1912),  from  Zululand.  Sigurd 
Folkestad   (1909)  was  born  in  England  of  Norwegian  parentage. 

6.    Education,  1860-1890 

This  period  witnessed  a  great  activity  in  the  building  of  church 
schools.    The  public  schools  taught  everything  except  the  cultural 

heritage  of  the  immigrant  races  and  the  Chris- 
Aim  tian   religion.     Private   schools  had   existed  in 

this  land  for  three  hundred  years,  while  public 
schools  were  yet  in  their  infancy  in  1860.  The  state  universities 
are  younger  than  most  of  the  church  colleges  surrounding  them. 
The  University  of  Illinois  dates  from  1867 ;  the  University  of 
Wisconsin,  from  1848;  the  University  of  Iowa,  from  1855;  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  from  1869.  Harvard  was  founded  in 
1634;  Yale,  in  1701.  The  first  American  high  school  was  estab- 
lished in  Boston  in  1821.  There  were  only  64  public  high  schools 
in  1850,  but  that  same  year  there  were  6,085  private  high  schools, 
or  church  academies.  The  situation  is,  of  course,  quite  different 
in  1925.  In  1915  there  were  12,003  public  high  schools,  and 
only  2,203  private  high  schools.  It  was  quite  natural  for  the 
Norwegian  pioneers  to  want  to  build  higher  schools.  They  knew 
that  knowledge  is  power.  They  wanted  to  give  their  national 
heritage  and  their  Lutheran  faith  to  their  children.  The  public 
schools  could  not  teach  the  Christian  religion  if  they  would,  and 
they  would  not  teach  the  culture  of  the  immigrants  if  they  could. 
So  they  proceeded  to  build  church  schools. 

From  1860  to  1870  these  schools  were  founded  and  maintained  : 
By  Eielsen  Synod : 

a.  Eielsen  Seminary,  Cambridge,  Wisconsin.   1865-1868. 

b.  Hauge  College  and  Eielsen   Seminary,   Chicago,   Illinois,   1861-1878. 

By  Norwegian  Synod: 

c.  Conoordia   Seminary,   St.   Louis,   Missouri    (jointly  with   Missouri) 
1859- 1 874. 

d.  Luther    College,    Halfway   Creek,    Wisconsin,    1861-1862;    Decorah, 
Iowa,  1862 . 

e.  Holden  Academy,  Aspelund,  Minnesota,   1869-1874. 

f.  St.  Olaf  College,  Northfield,  Minnesota,  1874 . 

g.  Concordia  Seminary,  Illinois,  1874-1876. 

h.     Luther    Seminary,    Madison,    Wisconsin,     1876-1889;    Robbinsdale, 

Minnesota,  1889-1899;  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,   1899-1917. 
i.     Monona  Academy,   Madison,  Wisconsin,   1876-1881. 
j.     Coon  Vallev  Lutheran  High  School,  Coon  Valley,  Wis.,   1878-1879. 
k.     Franklin  School,  Mayville,  North   Dakota,   1878-1880. 
1.     Willmar  Seminary,  Willmar,  Minnesota,  1883-1919. 


270  Norwegian  People  in  America 

m.     Gran  Boarding  School,  Mayville,  North  Dakota,  1880-1889. 

n.     Bode  Academy,  Bode,  Iowa,  1887-1903. 

o.     Stoughton  Academy,  Stoughton,  Wisconsin,  1888-1900. 

p.     Lutheran  Normal  School,  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota,  1888-1918. 

q.     Luther  Academy,  Albert  Lea,  Minnesota,  1888 . 

r.     Aaberg  Academy,  Devils  Lake,  North  Dakota,   1888-1903. 

s.     Bruflat  Academy,  Portland,  North  Dakota,  1889-1918. 
By  Scandinavian  Augustana  Synod: 

t.     Augustana    College    and    Theological    Seminary,    Chicago,    Illinois. 
1860-1863;    Paxton,    Illinois,    1863-1869.     (Continued  under   Norwe- 
gian Augustana  Synod). 
By  Norwegian  Augustana  Synod: 

u.     Augsburg  Seminary,  Marshall,  Wisconsin,   1869-1870. 

t.     Augustana    College    and    Seminary    (Marshall    Classical    School), 
Marshall,  Wisconsin,  1870-1881. 

t.     Augustana  College  and  Seminary,  Beloit,   Iowa,   1881-1884. 

t.     Augustana  College,  Canton,  South  Dakota,  1884-19I8. 

t.     Augustana  College  and  Normal,  Sioux  Falls,  S.  Dak.,  1918- 

v.     Salem  Seminary,  Springfield,  Iowa,  1876-1878. 

w.     Augustana  Seminary,  Beloit,  Iowa,  1884-1890. 

Philadephia  Seminary  also  used,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 
By  Norwegian-Danish  Conference : 

u.     Augsburg  Seminary,  Marshall,  Wisconsin,    1870-1872    (From  Nor- 
wegian Augustana). 

11.     Augsburg  Seminary,  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  1872- 

x.     St.  Ansgar  Seminary,  St.  Ansgar,  Iowa,  1878-1910. 

y.     Norwegian  Lutheran  Deaconess  Home,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  1883- 

z.     Norwegian    Lutheran    Deaconess    Home,    Minneapolis,    Minnesota, 
1889-.... 
By  Hauge  Synod : 

ae.     Red  Wing  Seminary,   Red  Wing,  Minnesota,  1879-.... 
By  Anti-Missourian  Brotherhood: 

f.     St.  Olaf  College,  Northfield,  Minnesota  (From  Norwegian  Synod). 

0.     Lutheran  Divinity  School,  Northfield,  Minnesota,  1886-1890. 
aa.     Wittenberg  Normal   School,  Wittenberg,  Wisconsin,   1887-1890. 
Capital  University  also  used,  Columbus,  Ohio,  1873-1890. 

a.    Eielsen   Seminary 
The  Eielsen  Synod  was  somewhat  afraid  of  higher  learning, 
but  clearly  saw  the  need  of  some  training  in  secular  and  religous 

branches.  Eielsen  Seminary  was  intended  to 
Higher  Schools  be    an    academy    and    seminary    combined    in 

a  two  or  three  years'  course.  Andreas  P. 
Aasero'd  (1823-1907)  was  a  "seminarist"  from  Norway  and  had 
had  eight  years  of  experience  as  a  parochial  teacher.  The  at- 
tendance was  about  20  each  year.  Aasero'd  became  a  pastor  at 
Badger,  Iowa,  1871-1878.  Then  he  farmed,  1878-1882.  He  closed 
his  career  as  a  music  teacher  at  Portland,  Oregon,  1891-1907. 

b.    Hauge  College  and  Eielsen  Seminary 
This  was  the  most  auspicious  of  the  school  enterprises  of  the 
Eielsen  Synod.    The  president  of  the  school,  John  Z.  Torgerson, 
had  attended  Lawrence  University,  1860-1863,  Illinois  State  Uni- 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


271 


versity,  1863-1865,  and  Chicago  University,  1865-1867.  As  col- 
porteur for  the  Chicago  Bible  Society,  1867-1869,  he  had  visited 
15,000  homes.  As  pastor  of  Trinity  Congregation  from  1869  to 
1905  he  is  said  to  have  officiated  at  15,000  marriages.  But  the 
times  were  hard.  Torgerson  and  Eielsen  did  not  agree.  Torger- 
son  left  the  Eielsen  Synod  in  1876  and  soon  afterward  the  school 
closed  for  want  of  support. 


G.   O.  Brohough    (44)         H.  H.  Elstad  (39) 


A.  K.  Feroe    (28)         G.  H.  Gilbertson    (26)       H.  T.  Ytterboe  (22) 

c.  Concordia  Seminary 
This  was  the  school  of  the  German  Missourians.  A  very 
thorough  school.  The  professors  lectured  in  Latin  as  readily  as 
in  German.  The  students  had  to  have  a  mastery  of  both  of  these 
languages.  Laur.  Larsen  was  the  first  Norwegian  teacher  at  Con- 
cordia, 1859-1861.  F.  A.  Schmidt  represented  the  Norwegian 
Synod  at  Concordia,  1872-1876,  as  professor  of  theology.  138 
Norwegians  have  graduated  from  the  school  with  the  degree  of 
C.  T.  (Candidate  in  Theology).  Concordia  has  given  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity  (honoris  causa)  to  U.  V.  Koren,  1903, 
Laur.  Larsen,  1903,  H.  G.  Stub,  1913,  and  Joh.  T.  Ylvisaker, 
1914.  Concordia  Seminary  was  founded  in  1839.  From  1839  to 
1922  it  graduated  2,641  men  for  the  ministry.  It  has  upward  of 
400  students  each  year  and  is  the  largest  theological  school  in  the 
land,  if  not  in  the  world. 


272  Norwegian  People  in  America 

d.    Luther  College 

The  beginnings  of  Luther  College  were  humble.  It  was  started 
in  a  parsonage  at  Halfway  Creek,  Wisconsin,  with  16  students 
in  attendance  and  two  instructors — Rev.  Laur.  Larsen  and  Rev. 
F.  A.  Schmidt.  It  had  been  planned  by  the  Norwegian  Synod 
pastors,  graduates  of  the  University  of  Christiania,  to  be  a  uni- 
versity fully  as  good  as  the  university  where  they  had  been  trained, 
and  for  20  years  it  was  frequently  referred  to  as  "The  Univer- 
sity." The  times  were  very  difficult.  The  panic  of  1857  had  left 
its  marks.  The  Civil  War  was  raging.  The  most  pressing  needs 
were  met  by  the  aid  which  Concordia  Seminary  was  furnishing. 
But  Concordia  was  down  in  Missouri,  a  slave  state,  and  this  placed 
the  school  between  the  fighting  lines.  The  connection  with  Con- 
cordia was  not  broken  by  the  war,  and  it  was  not  until  1876 
that  the  Norwegian   Synod  founded  its  own  seminary. 

The  Synod  felt  the  need  of  a  preparatory  school  and  decided 
to  begin  in  1861,  despite  the  war.  It  was  not  a  university.  It 
began  as  a  six-year  gymnasium,  leading  to  the  A.  B.  degree.  It 
was  a  classical  school.  College  classes  were  added  as  fast  as 
students  who  could  take  such  work  were  developed.  The  first 
graduating  class  was  turned  out  in   1866,  the  members  of  which 

were:  R.  B.  Anderson   (1846 ),   J.  E.  Berg  (1842-1905).  G. 

Erdahl    (1840-1914),   T.   O.   Juve    (1840-1913),   L.   J.   Markhus 

(1842-1885),      Ellef      Olsen     (1841 )     and      H.    G.     Stub 

(1849 ). 

The  second  school  year  opened  in  Decorah,  Iowa,  in  the  St. 
Cloud  Hotel.  The  first  college  building  was  completed  in  1865  at 
a  cost  of  $75,576.23.  The  site  for  the  school  had  been  chosen 
by  U.  V.  Koren.  The  task  of  raising  so  large  a  sum  as  $75,000.00 
in  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  War  can  hardly  be  appreciated  now. 
Eggs  were  six  cents  a  dozen,  butter  five  to  ten  cents  per  pound. 
The  markets  were  far  away,  the  roads  to  town  were  wretched. 
Money  had  no  stable  value,  evervthing  to  be  bought  in  town  was 
way  up  in  price.  In  1860  the  Norwegian  Synod  had  only  7,500 
baptized  members.  In  1865,  not  much  over  15,000.  But  they 
raised  the  money  gladly  and  promptly.  And  when  they  dedicated 
their  building  they  met  up  over  6,000  strong. 

Among  the  things  deposited  in  the  corner-stone  was  an  his- 
torical sketch  of  the  Norwegian  Synod.  The  following  words  from 
the  sketch  state  specifically  the  aim  of  Luther  College,  but  also 
reflect  the  general  aim  of  all  the  schools  of  the  Norwegian  Lu- 
therans : 

"Emigrated  Norwegians,  Lutheran  Christians  living  in  Wis- 
consin, Iowa,  Minnesota  and  Illinois,  united  in  erecting  this  build- 
ing to  educate  teachers  of  the  Church,  through  whose  ministry. 


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274  Norwegian  People  in  America 

by  the  grace  of  our  Lord,  the  saving  truth  of  the  Gospel  in  Word 
and  Sacraments  might  be  preserved  for  their  descendants  un- 
adulterated according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  as  set  forth  in  the  Unaltered  Augsburg  Confession.  The 
Lord  grant  this.    Amen." 

Luther  College  has  made  good.  It. stands  in  the  front  rank  of 
American  colleges  with  regard  to  scholarship  and  is  an  accredited 
school.  It  has  graduated  (1866-1924)  861  men  with  the  A.  B., 
358  of  whom  have  been  ordained  as  clergymen  in  the  Norwegian 
Lutheran  Church;  195  other  students  have  become  clergymen 
without  having  attained  to  the  bachelor's  degree.  Its  property  is 
now  valued  at  over  $1,000,000.00.  Laur.  Larsen  was  president 
1861-1902;  C.  K.  Preus,  1902-1921;  Oscar  L.  Olson,  1921 . 

e.    Holden  Academy 

Founded  by  B.  J.  Muus  at  his  parsonage,  Holden,  Minnesota, 
as  a  preparatory  school.  Muus  encouraged  his  best  confirmation 
pupils  to  go  to  school.  An  unusually  large  number  of  the  leaders 
among  the  Norwegian  people  have  come  from  his  congregations 
and  from  the  parishes  of  other  pastors  who  followed  his  example 
in  leading  the  young.  Holden  Academy  was  discontinued  to  make 
way   for  St.  Olaf's   School. 

f.    St.  Olaf  College 

St.  Olaf  College  was  founded  November  6,  1874,  at  North- 
field,  Minnesota,  under  the  name  St.  Olaf's  School.  It  was  the 
first  co-educational  school  in  the  Norwegian  Church.  It  remained 
an  academy  until  1886,  when  it  was  extended  upward  as  a  col- 
lege. That  year  it  became  the  college  of  the  Anti-Missourian 
Brotherhood.  In  1890  it  became  the  college  of  the  United  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  Church.  In  1894  it  was  placed  on  its  own  re- 
sources, and,  but  for  the  heroic  labors  of  H.  T.  Ytterboe,  it  might 
have  entirely  collapsed.  In  1899  it  again  received  the  support  of 
the  United  Church  and  has  since  made  great  advances.  Harald 
Thorson,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  school  and  a  true  friend  of 
it  until  his  dying  hour,  bequeathed  to  it  at  various  times  a  total 
of  about  $1,000,000.00.  The  school  now  has  a  faculty  of  about 
75  and  a  student  body  of  nearly  1,000.  For  lack  of  room  it  has 
to  limit  its  attendance.  The  academy  was  discontinued  in  1917. 
From  1890  to  1924  it  graduated  1,090  men  and  603  women,  a 
total  of  1,693.  In  1924  314  were  employed  as  clergymen  and 
missionaries;  778  as  teachers;  152  were  employed  in  other  pro- 
fessions ;  449  were  engaged  in  other  occupations.  Th.  N.  Mohn 
was  the  first  president,  1874-1899;  J.  N.  Kildahl,  the  second, 
1899-1914;  L.  A.  Vigness,  the  third,  1914-1918;  and  L.  W.  Boe, 
the  fourth,  1918 . 


Old   Main,    St.   Olaf   College,   1876 


New   Science  Hall,    St.    Olaf   College,   1925 


276  Norwegian  People  in  America 

g.    Concordia  Seminary 

Concordia  Seminary  is  the  practical  seminar}'  of  Missouri. 
It  was  founded  in  1846  at  Ft.  Wayne,  Indiana.  In  1874,  when 
the  Missouri  Synod  purchased  the  Illinois  State  University  school 
property,  it  was  moved  to  Springfield,  Illinois.  It  was  conducted 
for  such  theological  students  as  did  not  have  a  full  college  pre- 
paration. In  1874  the  Norwegian  practical  students  began  to 
attend  there.  In  1875  Ole  Bugge  Asperheim,  a  graduate  from  the 
University  of  Christiania,  became  the  representative  of  the  Nor- 
wegian Synod  on  the  faculty  of  the  school.  He  was  transferred 
to  Luther  Seminary,  Madison,  Wisconsin,  in  1876.  Concordia 
graduated  seven  men  into  the  Norwegian  ministry.  The  school 
is  in  a  flourishing  condition.  In  1922  it  had  a  total  of  1,540 
alumni,  an  attendance  of  147  studying  for  the  ministry,  and  sev- 
eral substantial  buildings  at  its  disposal. 

h.    Luther  Seminary 

The  Norwegian  Synod  established  its  own  seminary  in  1876, 
at  Madison,  Wisconsin.  It  never  came  to  Decorah,  as  was  first 
the  intention  when"The  University"  was  being  planned.  Luther 
Seminary  was  located  at  Robbinsdale,  Minnesota,  in  1889,  in  a 
suitable  building  erected  for  it.  This  school  plant  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1894,  and  the  school  sought  temporary  quarters  in  a 
hotel.  A  new,  modern  school  building  was  made  ready  for  use 
in  1899,  at  a  cost  of  over  $100,000.00.  It  was  situated  within  St. 
Paul,  at  Hamline,  Minnesota.  In  1917,  due  to  the  merger  of 
the  Norwegian  Synod,  the  Hauge  Synod  and  the  United  Church 
into  a  new  synod,  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church,  the  three 
seminaries  of  these  church  bodies  were  also  merged  into  one — 
Luther  Theological  Seminary,  St.  Paul.  The  Hamline  building 
of  Luther  Seminary  and  the  theological  plant  of  the  United  Church 
Seminary  at  St.  Anthony  Park  were  both  used  during  1917-1918; 
but  since  then  the  Hamline  building  has  been  used  by  the  Miller 
Lutheran  Bible  School.  The  teachers  at  Luther  Seminarv,  1876- 
1917,  were:  O.  B.  Asperheim,  1876-1878;  K.  K.  Bj^rgo,  1881- 
1882;  O.  E.  Brandt,  1897-1917;  J.  B.  Frich,  1888-1902;  B.  A. 
Harstad,  1889-1890,  1910-1911;  Elling  Hove,  1902-1917;  W.  M. 
H.  Petersen,  1894-1899;  F.  A.  Schmidt,  1876-1886;  H.  G.  Stub, 
1878-1896,  1900-1917;  and  Joh.  T.  Ylvisaker,  1879-1918.  From 
1876  to   1915  451  ministers  were  trained  at  this  school. 

i.  Monona  Academy 

A  co-educational  school,  with  an  attendance  from  41  to  79. 
It  occupied  the  buildings  of  the  defunct  orphanage  that  had  been 
sold  to  the   Norwegian  Synod   for  $18,000.00.    The   school   was 


The  N  or  we  gian- American  Period  277 

discontinued  in  1881  for  lack  of  suitable  quarters.  J.  J.  Ander- 
son, formerly  president  of  Augustana  College,  was  the  president 
of  the  school. 

j.    Coon  Valley  Lutheran  High  School 

Founded  by  Hagbart  Engh,  a  graduate  of  Luther  College.  He 
conducted  the  school  one  year,  1878-1879,  and  then  accepted  a 
position  at  Monona  Academy. 

k.   Franklin  School 

Franklin  School  was  conducted  in  Rev.  Bjug  A.  Harstad's 
parsonage,  about  7  miles  southeast  of  Mayville,  North  Dakota. 
Harstad  proposed  to  two  of  his  friends,  Stephen  H.  Hustvedt 
and  Jens  Menus,  both  Luther  College  boys,  that  they  start  a 
school  for  confirmed  youth  of  Traill  County.  He  would  furnish 
his  residence  as  a  school  house  if  they  would  be  content  with 
the  tuition  fee  from  the  pupils.  The  agreement  was  made.  The 
attendance  was  about  55  each  year.  The  school  was  in  session 
only  two  vears. 

1.    Willmar  Seminary 

Willmar  Seminary  was  at  one  time  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  popular  high  schools  in  the  state  of  Minnesota.  It  started 
in  1883  with  116  students.  In  1891  it  had  371.  Its  president, 
Hans  S.  Hilleboe,  was  considered  one  of  the  best  school  men 
in  the  state.  He  was,  in  addition  to  busy  tasks  as  executive  and 
teacher,  often  called  on  to  lecture  on  educational  and  temperance 
subjects.  He  was  a  fine  orator  and  a  dangerous  enemy  of  the 
saloon.  The  high  schools  and  the  War  ended  its  days  of  useful- 
ness. 7,110  students  were  in  attendance  from  1883  to  1919.  The 
school  property  was  largely  the  gift  of  the  two  brothers  Lars 
O.  Thorpe  and  Mikkel  O.  Thorpe.  Hans  S.  Hilleboe  was  con- 
nected with  the  school,  1884-1899,  1904-1907;  J.  C.  Jansrud,  1894- 
1905;  Oscar  K.  Omlie,  1895-1904;  Alfred  C.  Pederson,  1910- 
1919;Albert  Struxness,  1896-1897,  1906-1918;  Jonetta  Thorpe, 
19U-1919;  and  S.  O.  Tjosvold,  1893-03.  65  other  teachers  have 
also  taught  at  Willmar  for  a  shorter  term. 

m.   Gran  Boarding  School 

This  is  also  the  creation  of  B.  Harstad,  that  great  friend  of 
church  schools  for  youth  of  high  school  age.  Gran  was  started 
in  1885  and  was  in  operation  until  1891.  This  school  was  held  in 
the  church  building  of  the  Gran  Congregation  one-half  mile  south 
of  Harstad's  parsonage.  The  first  two  years  A.  Ingberg  and  T. 
C.  Sattra  were  teachers.  Sattra  was  the  housefather;  Mrs.  Sattra, 
the  mother.   There  were  up  to  85  in  attendance.   On  Friday  even- 


278  Norwegian  People  in  America 

ing  they  went  home  to  their   folks,  and  on  Sunday  they  came 
back  to  church  services  and  school. 

n.   Bode  Academy 

Erected  in  1887  by  the  Bode  Norwegian  Lutheran  Congrega- 
tion as  a  high  school  for  the  youth  of  the  vicinity.  It  was  con- 
ducted eight  years  by  the  congregation.  The  attendance  varied 
from  40  to  100.  It  was  found  that  the  building  used  by  the  school 
was  too  small  and  the  drain  on  the  congregation  too  great,  hence 
the  congregation  voted  to  discontinue  the  school.  Enthusiasts 
for  the  cause  kept  the  work  agoing  another  stretch  of  7  years, 
and  then  it  was  quietly  laid  to  rest,  in  1902.  It  had  a  total  of  800 
students.  Among  the  teachers  may  be  mentioned:  John  E.  Gran- 
rud,  1889-1890;  Celia  Gullixson,  1890,  1895-1896;  Andrew  C. 
Kirkeberg,  1891-1894;  Lars  O.  Lillegaard,  1889-1896;  O.  L. 
Olson,  1893-1895.  The  building  was  later  converted  into  a  public 
school  house. 

o.   St  ought  on  Academy 

Stoughton  is  one  of  the  strongest  Norwegian  communities 
in  America.  K.  A.  Kasberg  planted  a  school  there  in  1888.  In 
1894,  an  association  of  Norwegian  Synod  men  came  to  his  aid. 
In  1899  it  received  the  full  backing  of  the  Synod,  but  on  March 
25,  1900,  fire  destroyed  the  building.  The  building  was  restored, 
and  the  school  was  run  for  a  while  as  a  business  college  by  non- 
Lutherans.  During  the  12  years  of  its  existence  it  had  a  total 
attendance  of  2,124  young  men  and  women. 

p.  Lutheran  Normal  School 
The  Lutheran  Normal  School  opened  October  1,  1889,  with 
a  faculty  of  three  teachers  and  52  students.  The  Norwegian  set- 
tlers of  this  country  had  long  felt  the  need  of  a  Norwegian- 
American  normal  school,  which  could  train  teachers  both  for 
common  and  parochial  schools.  For  a  number  of  years,  1865-1885, 
Luther  College  maintained  a  normal  school  department  for  train- 
ing men  parochial  teachers.  The  attendance  was  never  large — 
12  in  1883,  10  in  1884,  8  in  1885.  The  department  was  discon- 
tinued in  1886,  and  reestablished  at  Sioux  Falls  in  1889  as  a 
normal  school.  The  total  attendance  from  1889  to  1918  was  4,197; 
the  actual  number  of  persons  in  attendance  was  2,200.  Nearly  750 
have  been  teachers  in  the  parochial  and  common  schools ;  28  have 
later  entered  the  ministry.  In  1918  Augustana  College  of  Canton 
and  the  Sioux  Falls  Normal  were  united  under  the  name  Augustana 
College  and  Normal.  The  presidents  of  the  Sioux  Falls  Normal 
have  been:  Rev.  Amund  Mikkelsen,  1889-1892,  1896-1908;  Rev. 
S.  C.  N.  Peterson,  1892-1893;  Rev.  H.  B.  Hustvedt,  1893-1896; 
Rev.  Z.  J.  Ordal,  1908-1917;  Professor  H.  S.  Hilleboe,  1917- 
1920;  Dr.  Charles  Orrin  Solberg,  1920 . 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


279 


q.    Luther  Academy 

Another  child  of  faith  in  the  Christian  education  of  the 
young.  The  presidents  of  Luther  Academy  have  been : 

Hon.  L.  S.  Swenson,  1888-1897,  now  United  States  minister 
to  Norway. 

Rev.  E.  I.  Strom,  1897-1902,  now  pastor,  Watson,  Minnesota. 

Professor  Martin  L.  Ullensvang,   1902-1903. 

Rev.  J.  E.  Thoen,  1903-1914,  now  pastor,  Oklee,  Minnesota. 

Professor  Sigurd  S.  Reque,  1914-1919,  now  professor  of 
French,  Luther  College. 

Professor  Kalmar  J.  Jacobson,  1919-1921,  now  Augustana 
College. 


Luther  Academy  and  Dormitory,  Albert  Lea,  Minn 


Luther  Academy,  J.  O.  Tweten,  President 


Professor  Eli  A.  Jensen,  1921-1924,  now  busines  smanager, 
Wittenberg  College. 

Rev.  Jacob  O.  Tweten,  1922 ,  Albert  Lea,  Minnesota. 

The  school  had  an  attendance  of  4,970 — 2,590  boys  and  2,380 
girls  during  the  years  1888-1923,  an  average  of  142  each  year, 
74  boys  and  68  girls. 

r.    Aaberg  Academy 

Aaberg  Academy  was  organized  as  a  private  enterprise  by 
Rev.  Ole  H.  Aaberg,  pastor  among  the  Norwegian  Lutheran 
pioneers  of  Ramsey,  Benson,  Rolette,  Bottineau  and  Ward  coun- 
ties, North  Dakota.  A  religious  junior  academy  for  newly  con- 
firmed and  other  youth.  Aaberg  built  a  school  house  costing 
$2,000.00.  The  school  had  a  Norwegian  department,  1888-1903, 
and  an  English  department,  1891-1903.  It  was  conducted  only  in 
the  winter  months,  yearly,  but  had  no  graduates.  Ole  H.  Aaberg, 
Albert  Hesla  and  Stener  Svennungsen  are  numbered  among  the 
teachers. 


280  Norwegian  People  in  America 

s.    Bruflat  Academy 

A  few  lines  from  the  1915  catalog  of  the  Bruflat  Academy: 
"Bruflat  Academy  was  founded  in  1889.  It  had  its  origin  in  the 
desire  of  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  of  Rev.  B.  Harstad's  con- 
gregations to  provide  better  parochial  school  facilities  than  could 
be  had  by  means  of  the  usual  parochial  schools  held  at  various 
times  of  the  year  in  each  of  the  congregations  of  this  charge. 
Some  three  years  before  a  boarding  school  had  been  organized 
at  Gran  Church,  about  seven  miles  southeast  of  Mayville,  North 
Dakota.  This  school  soon  proved  too  small  for  the  whole  charge, 
and  being  located  at  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the  settlements, 
four  of  the  congregations,  lying  farther  in  the  west,  decided  to 
organize  a  similar  school  of  their  own  at  Portland.  As  it  was 
necessary  to  build  anyway,  it  was  suggested  to  erect  a  larger 
building  than  was  needed  for  the  parochial  school  only,  and  thus 
make  room  for  an  academy  to  be  maintained  in  connection  with 
the  parochial  school  ....  A  great  deal  of  credit  is  due  to  the 
early  settlers  for  their  courage  in  undertaking  the  task  of  estab- 
lishing a  school  of  this  character,  always  difficult  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances,  and  certainly  a  tremendous  undertaking 
in  a  comparatively  new  country  and  with  small  resources.  The 
one  man  who  seems  to  have  had  the  clearest  vision,  and  the  cour- 
age and  enthusiasm  to  inspire  the  rest  was  Rev.  B.  Harstad, 
whose  portrait  we  present  in  this  issue  (of  the  catalog).  Let  the 
knowledge  and  'remembrance,  of  the  sacrifices  that  the  pioneers 
made  for  the  cause  of  higher  Christian  education  inspire  the  rising 
generation  to  do  their  share  in  aiding  Bruflat  Academy  to  fulfil 
its  mission."  The  younger  generation  to  whom  this  appeal  was 
addressed  inherited  much  wealth  from  their  pioneer  fathers  and 
live  in  a  day  when  money  can  more  easily  be  made;  still  they 
allowed  Bruflat  to  die.  It  died  in  1918.  2,354  boys  and  girls  of 
high  school  age  received  a  Christian  education  at  Bruflat.  The 
principals  of  Bruflat  were: 

Professor  John  G.  Halland,  1889-1892,  state  superintendent 
of  schools,  North  Dakota,  1897-1901. 

Rev.  John  O.  Tingelstad,  1892-1900,  now  professor  of  Scandi- 
navian, University  of  North  Dakota. 

Professor  Knut  M.  Hagestad,  1899-1904,  now  high  school 
instructor,  Santa  Cruz,  California. 

Professor  Alfred  C.  Pederson,  1904-1906,  now  superintendent, 
Argyle,  Minnesota. 

Professor  T.  E.  Thompson,  1906-1908,  high  school  teacher, 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

Professor  A.  T.  Felland,  1908-1911,  1916-1918,  principal, 
Benson  County  Agricultural  School,  North  Dakota. 


The  N  or  we  gian- American  Period 


281 


Professor  Martinus  C.  Johnshoy,  1911-1912,  pastor,  Starbuck, 
Minnesota. 

Professor  Erick  J.  Onstad,  1913-1916,  attorney,  Madison, 
Wisconsin. 

t.    Augustana  College  and  Theological  Seminary 

This  school  has  been  on  wheels.  The  idea  of  the  school  was 
conceived  at  the  Illinois  State  University,  Springfield.  It  was 
established  at  Chicago  in  1860  and  was  moved  to  Paxton  in  1863, 
being  then  the  school  for  the  Swedes  and  the  Norwegians  of  the 
Scandinavian  Augustana  Synod.   In  1869,  the  Norwegian  students 


Augustana  College  and  Normal,  Dr.  Charles  O.   Solberg,  President 

and  their  professor — A.  Weenaas — were  moved  to  Marshall,  Wis- 
consin, where  a  building  had  been  purchased  to  accommodate 
the  school.  The  Norwegian  Augustana  congregations  lay  to  the 
south  and  especially  to  the  west  of  Marshall,  so  it  was  generally 
agreed  that  Marshall  was  not  a  good  location  for  it.  Through 
the  energetic  work  of  Hon.  James  M.  Wahl  the  school  was  moved 
to  Beloit,  Iowa,  in  1881.  In  1884,  the  college  was  separated 
from  the  Seminary  and  moved  to  Canton,  South  Dakota,  then 
a  rival  town  of  Beloit  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Big  Sioux  River. 
Canton  furnished  the  Naylor  House  as  a  school  building  on  con- 
dition that  the  school  would  stay  in  Canton  10  years.  Under  the 
able  management  of  President  Anthony  G.  Tuve  the  college  at 
Canton  grew  large  and  strong.  In  1918  it  had  324  students  and 
had  had  for  14  years  an  average  of  250  a  year,  men  and  women. 


282 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


It  had  a  total  enrollment  of  6,990  from  1860  to  1918.  The  powers 
that  were  decided  in  1918  to  put  the  school  on  wheels  again. 
They  rolled  it  up  to  Sioux  Falls,  where  it  is  now  happily  united 
in  lawful  wedlock  with  the  Lutheran  Normal.  The  presidents  of 
Augustana  have  been:  Rev.  L.  P.  Esbjjzfrn,  1860-1863;  Rev.  T. 
N.  Hasselquist,  1863-1869;  Rev.  A.  Weenaas,  1869-1870;  Pro- 
fessor J.  J.  Anderson,  1870-1874;  Professor  Dorman,  1874-1876; 
Professor  Fred  S.  Huntington,  1876-1877;  Professor  J.  W.  Den- 
nison,  1877-1881 ;  Hon.  J.  M.  Wahl,  1881 ;  Professor  M.  D.  Miller, 
1881-1889;  Rev.  C.  S.  Salvesen,  1889-1890;  Professor  A.  G. 
Tuve,  1890-1916;  Dr.  Paul  M.  Glasoe,  1916-1918;  Professor  H. 
S.  Hilleboe,  1918-1920;  Dr.  C.  O.  Solberg,  1920 .  At  Mar- 
shall it  was  commonly  called  the  Marshall  Classical  Academy. 


Main   Building,  Augsburg  Seminary,   George   Sverdrup,  Jr.,  President 


u.   Augsburg  Seminary 

Augsburg  Seminary  dates  its  existence  from  the  time  that 
the  Norwegian  professor  (A.  Weenaas)  and  his  students  left 
Paxton  in  1869  and  settled  down  at  Marshall.  The  school  was 
called  Augsburg  by  synodical  resolution.  Now,  as  already  related, 
Augsburg  became  the  school  of  the  Norwegian-Danish  Confer- 
ence. In  1872  it  was  located  permanently  at  Minneapolis,  where 
it  stands  today  in  a  thriving  condition.  From  1870  to  1890  it 
was  the  seminary  of  the  Conference;  from  1890  to  1893  of  the 
United  Church ;  and  since  1893,  of  the  Lutheran  Free  Church.  It 
has  always  been  a  strong  school,  with  strong  personalities  at  its 
head.  The  names  Sverdrup  and  Oftedal  are  some  of  the  best 
known  and  most  respected  names  in  Norwegian-American  history. 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


283 


The  presidents  of  the  school  have  been:  A.  Weenaas,  1869-1874; 
Georg  Sverdrup,   1874-1907;   Sven   Oftedal,   1907-1909;  George 

Sverdrup,  Jr.,   1909 .    Theologians  at  Augsburg  holding  full 

professorships:  August  Weenaas,  1869-1876;  Sven  Oftedal,  1873- 
1904;  S.  R.  Gunnersen,  1874-1883;  Georg  Sverdrup,  1874-1907; 
B.  B.  Gjeldaker,  1876-1877;  M.  O.  Bookman,  1890-1893;  F.  A. 
Schmidt,  1890-1893;  E.  G.  Lund,  1891-1893;  H.  A.  Urseth,  1899- 

1909;  Andreas  Helland,  1905 ;  George  Sverdrup,  1908 ; 

J.  O.  Evjen,  1909-1919;  E.  P.  Harbo,  1909 ;  Lars  Lillehei, 

1920 .    College  professors   of   long  standing:   J.   H.   Blegen, 

1885-1916;  Theo.  S.  Reimestad,  1885-1900;  Wilhelm  M.  Petter- 


T  -v  °K  G-    Fdland  J.    C.    M.   Hanson  Karl   T.   Jacobsen 

Ubr.,  St.  Olaf  College  Librarian,  U.  of  Chicago    Libr.,  Luther  College 

^1886_1910;   J"   J"   N^dah1'    1891 J   H-   N.   Hendrickson, 

1900 ;   S.  O.   Severson,   1904-1915;  Wm.   Mills,   1907-1919; 

P.  A.  Sveeggen,  1915 ;  R.  B.  Nell,  1916-1924.    The  aim  of 

the  school  was  to  meet  the  demands  of  our  Lutheran  immigrants 
for  earnest,  consecrated  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  But  if  this  aim 
was  to  be  attained  the  very  foundations  of  the  school  would  have 
to  be  a  true,  living  Christianity,  Lutheran  profession,  and  a  close 
allegiance  with  the  congregations,-.  The  school  has  therefore 
stressed  conversion,  prayer  meetings,  and  other  manifestations  of 
Christian  life,  as  well  as  careful  and  prayerful  study  of  God's 
Word.  The  total  number  of  students  (men),  from  1869  to  1923, 
was  6,988.  The  school  has  a  four-year  academy,  a  four-year  col- 
lege and  a  three-year  theological  seminary.  It  has  been  the  most 
successful  of  the  colleges  in  getting  its  college  men  to  study 
theology.  From  1869  to  1914  348  of  its  graduates  became  pastors. 
54  per  cent  of  its  college  graduates  have  taken  up  the  study  of 
theology.    Since  1922  the  school  has  been  co-educational. 

v.    Salem  Seminary 
Started  by  Rev.  David  Lysnes,  pastor  at  Springfield,   Iowa, 
six  miles  south  of  Decorah,  in  his  parsonage.    Lysnes  was  a  pro- 


284  Norwegian  People  in  America 

found  Bible  student  and  a  pietist,  akin  to  the  great  mystics  of 
medieval  history.  He  was  a  very  earnest  and  inspiring  preacher 
and  teacher,  and  fortunate  were  those  who  sat  at  his  feet.  The 
Springfield  congregation  has  given  a  number  of  good  men  to  the 
Church — Abraham  Jacobson,  K.  Salvesen,  Iver  Andreassen,  A.  E. 
Erikson,  K.  O.  Lomen,  C.  S.  Salvesen,  and  Olaf  Lysnes,  all  min- 
isters, and  Professor  A.  G.  Tuve,  president  of  Augustana  College, 
1889-1916.  The  Salem  Seminary  did  not  have  a  large  attendance. 
It  was  moved  to  Marshall  in  1878,  and  from  that  time  it  was 
called  Augustana  Seminary.  Rev.  C.  J.  Roseland  of  Philadelphia 
is  one  of  the  Salem  boys. 

w.  Augustana  Seminary 
Augustana  College  and  Seminary  came  to  Beloit,  Iowa,  in 
1881.  In  1884,  Augustana  College  was  detached  from  the  Semi- 
nary and  moved  to  Canton.  The  Seminary  kept  right  on  at  Beloit 
until  1890,  when  the  Augustana  Synod  voted  to  merge  the  semi- 
nary with  the  Augsburg.  Professor  K.  O.  Lomen,  a  graduate  of 
Marshall,  Thiel  College,  and  Philadelphia  Seminary,  died  Janu- 
ary 1,  1890;  Professor  Lysnes,  August,  11,  1890.  They  were  the 
whole  faculty  at  Augustana  in   1890. 

x.  Red  Wing  Seminary 
Red  Wing  Seminary  is  now  one  of  the  leading  college  pre- 
paratory schools  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  of  America. 
The  equipment  of  the  institution  at  Red  Wing,  Goodhue  County, 
Minnesota,  includes  a  pro-seminary  (pro-theological)  department, 
a  school  of  commerce,  a  Bible  school,  and  a  school  of  music  and 
dramatic  art.  It  has  a  faculty  of  twelve  members.  In  1879  the 
Red  Wing  Seminary  became  the  successor  of  the  Red  Wing  Col- 
legiate Institute,  an  independent  institution  which  in  1871  erected 
the  present  Sande  Hall,  now  a  dormitory  for  boys.  In  the  early 
'80s  Sumner  Hall,  now  used  as  a  woman's  dormitory,  was  added. 
The  seminary  opened  in  1879  with  two  departments :  an  academy 
with  a  four-year  course  and  a  divinity  school  with  a  three-year 
course.  One  of  the  first  teachers,  G.  O.  Brohough,  Ph.  D.,  is  still 
a  member  of  the  faculty.  The  owner  of  the  school  was  the  Hauge 
Norwegian  Lutheran  Synod,  an  organization  which  in  1917  united 
with  two  other  Norwegian  Lutheran  synods  to  form  the  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  Church  of  America.  In  1899  an  expansion 
toward  a  junior  college  began,  and  by  1910  the  school  had  a  senior 
college  department,  graduating  in  the  year  its  first  class  to  re- 
ceive the  A.  B.  degree.  Because  of  the  church  union  in  1917 
the  theological  department  was  moved  to  Luther  Seminary  in 
St.  Paul,  and  the  college  department  to  St.  Olaf  College.  At  the 
same  time  various  other  departments  as  indicated  above  were 
either  added  or  enlarged.  The  present  main  building,  a  very  fine 
structure  of  pressed  brick,  was  built  in  1903.  The  school  has  a 
fine  heating  plant,  a  hospital,  and  a  residence  for  the  president. 


The  Norivegian- American  Period 


285 


The  number  of  students  annually  in  attendance  varies  from  150 
to  200.  During  the  last  few  years  co-education  has  been  in  force. 
The  school  has  distinguished  alumni  organized  into  an  active 
alumni  association.  The  following  educators  have  been  presidents 
of  the  institution:  The  Rev.  Ingvald  Eisteinsen,  1879-1881 
(acting)  ;  Rev.  August  Weenaas,  1882-1885;  Rev.  J.  X.  Kildahl, 
1885-1886  (acting)  ;  Rev.  M.  G.  Hanson,  1886-1887  (acting)  ; 
Rev.  O.  S.  Meland,  1887-1889;  H.  H.  Bergsland,  1889-1897; 
Rev.  M.  G.  Hanson,  1897-1910;  Edward  W.  Schmidt,  1910-1918; 


Red   Wing   Seminary,  H.   E.   Jorgensen,    President 


Rev.   M.  J.  Wick.   1918-1920;  Herman  E.  Jorgensen,    1920 . 

Of  the  many  able  teachers  who  have  taught  at  the  seminary  seven 
deserve  special  mention  for  long  and  efficient  service.    Thev  are  : 

G.  O.  Brohough,  1879 ;  H.  H.  Elstad,  1887 ;  C.  R.  Hill, 

1887-1895;  Julius  Boraas,  1895-1900;  E.  O.  Ringtsad,  1900-1917; 

George   H.   Ellingson,    1908-1917;    O.    O.    Stageberg,    1908 . 

The  names  of  Hans  Markusen  Sande,  Ole  Ellingson  and  Rev. 
0sten  Hanson  should  be  mentioned  as  the  original  purchasers 
of  the  old  Alain  Building,  in  1878.  This  involved  an  expenditure 
of  $10,000.00  and  was  an  act  of  foresight  and  courage  on  their 
part  which  deserves  to  live  on  in  fond  memory.  Total  attendance, 
1879-1923.  6,127.    Pastors  trained  at  Red  Wing,   1879-1914,  177. 

y.    Lutheran  Divinity  ScJwol 
The   seminary   of   the  Anti-Missourians,    1886-1890.     Dr.    M. 
O.  Bockman  and  Dr.  F.  A.   Schmidt,  professors.    29  men  were 
graduated.    The  school  merged  with  Augsburg  Seminar}-  in  1890. 


286  Norwegian  People  in  America 

z.  Wittenberg  Normal  School 
Rev.  E.  J.  Homme  had  established  at  Wittenberg  an  orphanage, 
an  old  people's  home,  a  printing  press,  a  Sunday  school  paper,  a 
young  people's  paper,  an  almanac,  etc.  He  wanted  also  a  school. 
Wittenberg  Normal  School  was  established  as  the  training  school 
for  teachers  within  the  Anti-Missourian  Brotherhood.  Two  ex- 
ceptionally good  teachers  were  secured — Knute  O.  Ljzfkensgaard 
and  Peter  J.  Eikeland.  The  school  was  in  session  three  years 
(1882-90)  and  had  an  attendance  of  35,  41  and  50  boys  and  girls. 


Herman  W.   Sheel 

William  Paul 

Sihler 

Frederick  Zilliox 

40  years 
Chemistry 

35  years 
Greek 

30  years 
Commerce 

Three 

German 

Professors  at 

Norwegian  Colleges 

ae.    St.  Ansgar  Seminary 

St.  Ansgar  Seminary  was  a  great  school  in  its  day,  1878-1910. 
The  history  of  St.  Ansgar  dates  from  October  1,  1878,  when 
Professor  Halsten  S.  Houg,  a  teacher  at  Augsburg  Seminary, 
encouraged  by  Revs.  Johan  Olsen  and  B.  B.  Gjeldaker,  opened 
a  private  high  school  in  two  vacant  rooms  in  the  public  school 
building  of  St.  Ansgar.  The  school  continued  here  for  two  years, 
and  then  the  two  following  years  it  was  conducted  in  two  rooms 
above  one  of  the  down-town  stores.  In  1882  Professor  Houg  had 
secured  the  backing  of  the  St.  Ansgar  Circuit  of  the  Conference 
and  a  suitable  building  was  erected  for  his  school.  In  1890,  Knute 
O.  Ljzfkensgaard  and  P.  J.  Eikeland  of  the  Wittenberg  Normal 
were  added  to  the  faculty,  making  six  teachers.  The  general  aim 
of  the  school  was  "to  give  to  young  men  and  women  an  oppor- 
tunity of  acquiring  a  thorough,  practical  education  on  a  Christian 
foundation."  The  total  attendance  at  the  school  was  2,868.  It 
had  56  teachers.    The  presidents  were  as  follows : 

Halsten  S.  Houg,  1878-1890,  later  county  auditor,  Mitchell 
County,  Iowa. 

Knute  O.  Lpltensgaard,  1890-1893,  president  elect,  Gale  College. 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


287 


Knut  Gjerset,  Ph.  D.,  1893-1895,  now  professor  of  history, 
Luther  College. 

John  Olaf  Sethre,  A.  M.,  1895-1898.    Deceased. 

L.  J.  Sigurd  Olsen,  1898-1901,  pastor,  Minneapolis,  Minnesota. 

John  P.  Tandberg,    1901-03,   pastor,   Weldon,   Saskatchewan. 

Matias  R.  Odegaard,  1903-1905  (teacher,  St.  Ansgar,  1893- 
1910),  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota. 

Ivar  Ramseth,   1905-1907,  now  pastor,  Luther  Valley,  Wis. 

George  T.  W.  Mohn,  1907-1908,  now  business  manager,  Mohn 
Printing  Company,  Northfield,  Minnesota. 

Carl  C.  Swain,  Ph.  D.,  1908-1910,  president,  Mayville  State 
Normal  School. 


a.    Baptist 

From  1884  to  1913  the  Norwegian  and  Danish  Baptists  con- 
ducted the  Dano-Norwegian  Baptist  Seminary  at  Morgan  Park, 
Chicago.  The  school  had  organic  connection 
Reformed  Schools  with  the  University  of  Chicago  and  its  Divin- 
ity School,  which  is  Baptist.  The  first  head 
of  the  Morgan  Park  school  was  a  Dane,  N.  P.  Jensen,  1884-1895. 
His  first  associate  was  a  Norwegian,  Edward  Olsen,  Ph.  D.,  who 
had  been  professor  of  Greek  at  the  University  of  Chicago,  1875- 
1885.  In  1887  Dr.  Olsen  was  elevated  to  the  presidency  of  the 
University  of  South  Dakota.  He  lost  his  life  on  a  visit  to  his 
brother,  the  merchant  prince,  S.  E.  Olsen  of  Minneapolis,  in  the 
Tribune  fire,  November  30,  1889.  Another  Norwegian,  Dr.  Hen- 
rik  Gundersen,  took  Olsen's  place  at  the  seminary  in   1887  and 

he  became  the  dean  of 
the  school  in  1895 
upon  the  death  of 
Dean  Jensen.  He  has 
been  assisted  by  a 
Norwegian,  C.  J.  Ol- 
sen, and  a  Dane,  Dr. 
Nils  S.  Lawdahl.  In 
the  first  20  years  of 
its  existence  170  men 
were  in  attendance, 
many  of  whom  are 
now    in    the    ministry 


Northern  Baptist  Seminary 


in  Norway,  Denmark,  America  and  foreign  mission  fields.  In 
1910  the  Norwegians  organized  a  General  Conference  and  in 
1913  they  established  a  Norwegian  Seminary,  which,  since  1921, 
has  been  in  affiliation  with  the  Northern  Baptist  Theological 
Seminary,  Chicago.  Dr.  Gundersen  continues  as  the  dean  of  the 
school  and  professor  of  New  Testament  Greek. 


288 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


In  the  1924  catalog  of  this  school  it  is  stated  that  there  are 
ahout  2,000,000  Norwegians  in  America.  "To  give  this  people 
the  Gospel,  free  from  human  inventions  and  admixtures,  is  both 
a  duty  and  a  privilege  for  us  as  Baptists.  The  progress,  however, 
of  our  Baptist  work  among  them,  has  been  somewhat  hampered 
on  account  of  the  strong  attachment  of  the  Norwegians  to  the 
Lutheran  Sacramentalism  in  which  salvation  is  connected  with 
outward  forms  and  conveyed  through  them.  There  are  about 
2,000  Norwegian  Baptists  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  and  40 
churches.   They  have  formed  an  organization  called  the  Norwegian 


J.  H.  Johnson  A.   Haagensen  T.   Ottman   Firing 

Norwegian  Methodist  Divines 

Baptist  Conference  of  America,  for  the  promotion  of  the  welfare 
of  the  churches  connected  with  it  and  for  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel." 

1).  Congregationalist 
In  proportion  to  their  numbers  the  Congregationalists  spend 
more  money  on  educational  and  missionary  work  than  perhaps 
any  other  denomination  in  the  world.  The  Mayflower  people  who 
landed  at  Plymouth  Rock  in  1620  were  Congregationalists.  They 
developed  great  strength  in  New  England  and  have  wielded  a 
tremendous  influence  throughout  the  whole  country  in  all  fields 
of  thought  and  endeavor.  Being  Separatists,  they  naturally  were 
interested  in  the  early  Norwegians,  of  whom  many  were  Dis- 
senters. There  was  a  Norwegian  Congregational  church  organized 
in  connection  with  the  Tabernacle  Church  in  Chicago  in  the  early 
'80s  and  one  in  Tacoma,  Washington,  a  little  later.  The  present 
system  of  Norwegian  Congregational  congregations  had  its  be- 
ginning as  a  result  of  the  work  originating  in  the  Chicago  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  which  was  opened  to  Scandinavian  students  in 
1884,  with  Rev.  P.  C.  Trandberg  as  their  teacher.  Trandberg  was 
a  Danish  Lutheran,  who  had  been  a  dissenter  in  his  native  land, 
and  had  established  there  The  Danish  Evangelical  Free  Church. 
He  was  on  the  faculty  of  the  Congregational  School  until   1890 


The  Norivegian- American  Period 


289 


and  then  withdrew  in  order  to  found  a  new  school,  The  Evangel- 
ical Lutheran  Free  Church  Seminary,  Chicago.  This  seminary 
he  conducted  until  1894.  He  died  in  1896.  In  1885  R.  A.  Jern- 
berg,  a  graduate  of  Yale,  became  Trandberg's  assistant.  Dr.  Jern- 
berg'  was  a  professor  at  the  Dano-Norwegian  Institute  of  the 
Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  1885-1916,  and  at  its  successor, 
Union  Theological  College,  Chicago,  1916-1923.  He  was  the 
founder  of  the  church  paper  "Evangelisten"  and  its  editor  ten 
years,  1889-1899.  Rev.  O.  C.  Grauer  has  been  an  associate  pro- 
fessor in  the  Seminary.  During  its  first  20  years  of  work  the 
school  had  123  Norwegian  and  Danish  students,  of  whom  52  com- 
pleted the  full  course.  Six  of  these  eventually  came  back  into 
the  Lutheran  Church.  From  1887  to  1915  21  of  the  graduates  of 
this  Congregational  school  sought  admission  to  the  ministerial 
ranks  of  the  Norwegian  Lutherans. 

c.    Methodist 

The  Norwegian-Danish  Theological  Seminary  at  Evanston, 
Illinois,  dates  from  1870,  when  three  Norwegian  Methodist  pas- 
tors— Andrew  Haagen- 
sen,  John  Henry  John- 
son and  P.  H.  Rye,  all 
Norwegians,  and  two  lay- 
men— Ole  Wigdal  and 
O.  M.  Oren,  resolved 
that  Carl  Schou,  then  a 
student  at  Northwestern 
University,  should  start 
a  school  for  those  who 
desired  to  enter  the  Nor- 
wegian-Danish Method- 
ist ministry.  C.  B.  Wil- 
lerup  succeeded  Schou  in 
1873,  and  after  him  came 
B.  Johannesen,  Marcus 
Nilsen  and  Martin  Han- 
sen in  turn.  In  1886 
Nels  Edward  Simonsen, 
A.M.,  D.D.,  was  elected 
president  of  the  semi- 
nary. He  was  connected 
with  the  school  as  presi- 
dent and  teacher  over  30 
years.    I.  Ottman  Firine 


Methodist   Theological   Seminary, 
Evanston,   Illinois 


is  in  charge  of  the  school 
at  present.  H.  P.  Bergh,  John  O.  Hall,  Tobias  Foss,  Herbert 
Hansen,  Carl  W.  Schevenius,  T.  H.  Loberg  and  AsbjoYn  Smedstad 


290  Norwegian  People  in  America 

have  been  on  the  teaching  staff  at  various  times.  The  school  was 
chartered  in  1875  and  obtained  its  own  building  in  1889.  It  has 
close  relations  with  the  Garrett  Biblical  Institute  and  Northwest- 
ern University.  From  1870  to  1905  the  school  graduated  about 
45  ministers. 

d.    Quaker 

The  Norwegian  Quakers,  according  to  Ulvestad,  maintained 
a  school  at  LeGrand,  Marshall  County,  Iowa,  for  a  number  of 
years.  Ole  T.  Sawyer  was  the  principal.  The  attendance,  ranged 
from  20  to  25. 

a.    Valdcr  Business  College  and  Normal  School 

Founded  in  1888  by  Charles  H.  Valder,  teacher  of  penman- 
ship at  Luther.  The  first  year  he  sent  out  12,000  catalogs  to 
country  youth  and  they  came  by  scores.  Sub- 
Private  Schools  sequently  he  had  up  to  400  students  a  year. 
The  growth  of  the  public  high  schools  grad- 
ually diminished  his  attendance.  He  had  10,000  students  in  all 
and  900  graduates.  He  died  in  1922,  and  his  school  closed  down 
in   1923. 

b.  Albion  Academy 

In  1889  Peter  Hendrickson,  at  one  time  professor  of  Latin 
at  Beloit  College  and  editor  of  "Skandinaven,"  bought  the  Albion 
Academy  property  and  re-opened  the  school  in  1890.  The  attend- 
ance the  first  year  was  over  100 — boys  and  girls.  In  1900  Hen- 
drickson sold  his  school  to  a  corporation  composed  of  sixteen 
Norwegian  Lutheran  congregations  of  the  Norwegian  Synod,  and 
the  school  took  a  new  lease  of  life  in  the  fall  of  1901  under  the 
name  H.  A.  Preus  Academy,  which  a  few  years  later  was  changed 
back  to  Albion  Academy.    In  1918  it  closed  its  doors  for  good. 

Albion  Academy  was  an  old  school,  founded  in  1854  by  the 
Seventh  Day  Baptist  Church,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  C. 
R.  Head.  The  people  of  the  Seventh  Day  faith  had  that  year 
organized  two  academies  ten  miles  apart — Milton  Academy  at 
Milton,  and  Albion  Academy  at  Albion.  These  schools  are  only 
four  years  younger  than  the  University  of  Wisconsin  and  nine 
years  older  than  the  oldest  public  high  school  in  that  state.  They 
had  a  fairly  good  attendance.  R.  B.  Anderson  was  added  to  the 
faculty  of  Albion  in  1866  as  teacher  of  languages,  and  the  at- 
tendance rose  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Anderson  was  a  Norwegian 
and  attracted  the  Norwegians  from  the  neighboring  Koshkonong 
settlements.  Milton  also  appointed  a  Norwegian  teacher,  Edwin 
E.  Evenson.  He  secured  a  number  of  students  from  Edgerton 
and  Stoughton.  The  most  outstanding  of  these  is  the  well  known 
Dr.  Anthony  Rud,  Chicago,  whose  son,  Anthony  M.  Rud,  is  the 
author  of  a  novel,  "The  Second  Generation."    Ludwig  Kumlien, 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


291 


son  of  Thure  Rumlien,  the  noted  naturalist,  was  on  the  Milton 
faculty,  1889-1902.  R.  B.  Anderson's  work  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  Madison  educators,  and  in  1869  he  was  asked  to 
take  a  position  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  Anderson  is  the 
first  Norwegian  to  hold  a  professorship  of  Scandinavian  at  an 
American  university.  K.  A.  Kasberg  was  a  teacher  at  Albion  in 
1884-1888.  Owing  to  the  growth  of  the  high  schools,  the  Baptists 
found  that  they  could  not  keep  two  schools  going  and  offered 
Albion  for  sale.    Professor  Hendrickson  bought  it. 

In  the  list  of  its  graduates  are  such  names  as  Senator  Knute 
Nelson  of  Minnesota;  Governor  Alva  Adams  of  Colorado;  Hon. 


O.  A.  Buslett 


H.   H.    Boyesen 
Early  Literary  Men 


Kr.   Janson 


C.  V.  Bardeen,  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Wisconsin;  Dr. 
J.  F.  A.  Pyre,  professor  of  English,  University  of  Wisconsin. 

In  1901  Albion  Academy  became  a  church  school,  having  been 
transferred  to  an  association  consisting  of  16  Norwegian  Lutheran 
congregations  of  that  vicinity.  D.  G.  Ristad  (1901-1904),  Theo. 
R.  Ringo'en  (1904-1914),  and  Torger  C.  Torgerson  (1914-1918), 
were  the  presidents. 

In  its  last  published  catalog,  1917,  the  last  message  of  this 
school  to  the  Church  which  supported  it  and  the  world  which 
tolerated  it,  we  read:  "While  the  Church  recognizes  the  great 
work  done  by  our  free  public  schools,  it  nevertheless  laments  the 
fact  that  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  student  must  of  necessity  in 
these  schools  be  more  or  less  ignored  in  order  to  conform  to  the 
laws  of  our  free  Republic.  Our  church  schools  then  fill  a  gap  in 
the  American  plan  which  every  fair-minded  citizen  will  be  forced 
to  admit.  What  the  twentieth  century  needs  more  than  anything 
else  is,  men  and  women  of  Christian  faith  and  character,  true 
to  their  convictions  and  ideals,  honest  and  upright  in  all  things. 
That  is  the  type  of  men  and  women  a  Christian  school  always 
aims  to  develop.  Having  this  aim,  our  church  schools  ought  to 
commend  themselves  to  all  who  have  the  highest  interest  of  the 
young  at  heart." 


292  Norwegian  People  in  America 

c.    Wraamann  s  Academy 

Wilhelm  \Y.  Wraamann  studied  at  Luther  College,  1868- 
1869,  taught  at  St.  Ansgar  Academy  and  Augsburg  Seminary,  and 
served  as  county  superintendent  of  schools,  Hennepin  County, 
Minnesota,  1886-1888.  He  established  in  1890,  a  private  high 
school,  known  as  Wraamann's  Academy,  which  he  was  able  to 
conduct  until  1897.  The  school  was  located  in  South  Minne- 
apolis, but  was  kept  in  different  buildings  according  to  the  attend- 
ance. H.  Borglund,  a  Swede,  was  the  most  important  assistant. 
The  strength  of  the  school  was  built  on  Professor  Wraamann's 
great  popularity  as  a  teacher.  The  last  year  the  attendance 
dwindled  down  to  26  and  the  school  closed.  Wraamann  was  the 
author  of  a  textbook  on  learning  English,  "Praktisk  Laerebog  i 
Engelsk." 

The  number  of  Norwegians  seeking  a  college  education  was 
on  the  increase.    At  the  Norwegian   Lutheran  colleges  the  total 

attendance  of  college  students  in  1860  was 
Graduate  Work  0;  in  1870  it  was  36;  in  1880  it  was  131 ;  and 

in  1890  it  was  145.  A  number  of  these  were 
encouraged  to  do  postgraduate  work  at  standard  universities, 
and  others  felt  the  urge  from  within  to  get  more  wisdom 
and  win  scholastic  degrees.  Luther  College,  famed  for  its 
thorough  classical  scholarship,  took  the  lead.  Sixteen  of  her  grad- 
uates won  the  Master  of  Arts  degree  between  1883  and  1890. 
in  the  70s  there  were  only  two  Norwegians  who  attained  to  the 
Doctor  of  Philosophy  degree.  From  1881  to  1890  there  were  six 
who  graduated  with  this  degree.  From  1891  to  1900  there  were 
15;  from  1901  to  1910,  26;  from  1911  to  1920,  43.  From  1877  to 
1925  at  least  112  Norwegian-Americans  became  Ph.D.'s.  A  list 
of  these  doctors  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.  It  is  probably 
not  complete.  The  following  won  their  doctorate  during  this 
period : 

Anton  B.  Sander,  Luther  College,  A.B.,  1874;  Yale,  Ph.D., 
1877. 

Magnus  C.  Ihlseng.  A.B..  1875.  Ph.D..  1879. 

Thorstein  B.  Veblen.  Carleton,  A.B.,  1880;  Yale,  Ph.D..  1884. 

Albert  E.  Egge,  Luther,  A.B.,  1879;  Johns  Hopkins,  Ph.D., 
1887. 

Andrew  Fossum,  Luther,  A.B.,  1882  ;  Johns  Hopkins,  Ph.D., 
1887. 

Ole  Edward  Hagen,  Wisconsin,  A.B.,  1882 ;  Leipzig,  Ph.D., 
1890. 

Joseph  S.  Schefloe,  Luther,  1885;  Tohns  Hopkins,  Ph.D.,  1890. 

Agnes  M.  Wergeland,  Nissen,  A.B.,  1878;  Zurich,  Ph.D., 
1890. 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


293 


Sander  was  the  first  Ph.D.  He  was  a  teacher  at  Flushing  for 
one  year,  1877-1878,  and  at  Luther  College  for  one  year,  1878- 
1879.  His  subjects  were  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin  and  German. 
He  died  young — only  30  years  old.  Ihlseng  has  been  instructor  at 
Pennsylvania  State  College  and  Brooklyn  Polytechnic  Institute 
and  is  a  civil  engineer  in  the  employ  of  the  New  York  Central. 
Veblen  has  been  professor  of  economics  at  the  universities  of 
Chicago,  Leland  Stanford  and  Missouri  and  the  New  School  for 
Social  Research,  New  York.  He  has  written  ten  or  more  scholarlv 
books  on  economic  and  social  problems  and  is  considered  one  of 
the  world's  greatest  authorities  in  his  field.  Egge  was  an  English 
philologist  and  teacher  at  St.  Olaf,  University  of  Iowa,  State  Col- 
lege of  Washington  and  Willamette  University.    He  died  in  1919. 


Andrew  B.   Sander 


Agnes  M.  Wergeland 


Andrew  Fossnm 


Andrew  Fossum  has  been  a  teacher  of  Greek  and  French  at 
St.  Olaf,  Park  Region  and  Concordia  Colleges  and  has  written  on 
the  Greek  theater  and  Norse  discovery  of  America.  He  has  been 
a  wonderful  pedagog  in  Greek.  Hagen  was  a  professor  of  lan- 
guages at  the  University  of  South  Dakota,  1891-1901.  Schefloe 
was  a  professor  of  Romance  languages  at  Johns  Hopkins.  Miss 
Wergeland  was  a  professor  of  history  at  the  University  of 
Wyoming.  She  has  written  two  volumes  of  poetry  and  other 
books.  She  was  the  first  Norwegian  woman  in  the  world  to  re- 
ceive a  Ph.D. 

7.  Publications,  1860-1890 

This  country  guarantees  to  its  citizens  freedom  of  speech  and 
freedom    of   press.      The    Norwegians    early   made   use   of    their 
privilege   and   right   to   use   the   press.     From 
The  Press  I860   to    1890   they   established   no   less   than 

169  journals — 91  news  and  political  papers, 
25  cultural  and  reform,  35  Lutheran  religious  and  18  non-Lu- 
theran religious.  A  list  of  these  periodicals  will  be  found  in  the 
Appendix. 

The  aim  of  the  newspapers  was  to  chronicle  the  news  of  Nor- 


294 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


way  and  America  and  as  much  of  the  rest  of  the  world  as  would 
be  of  special  interest  to  the  Norwegian  readers.  These  papers 
introduced  the  Norwegian  immigrants  to  the  ideals  and  practices 
of  the  Americans,  recounted  the  best  news  of  the  Norwegian 
settlements  and  kept  the  Norwegians  here  in  touch  with  the  course 
of  events  in  their  former  home  land.  They  contain  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  little  poems  written  by  the  immigrants,  expressing 
in  lyric  lines  their  love  for  the  land  they  forsook  as  well  as  their 
loyalty  to  the  land  they  had  of  their  own  free  will  sworn  allegiance 
to.    They  give  first  hand  glimpses  of  the  Norwegians  at  work  in, 


B.    Anundsen  Gustav  Amluncl  John    Anderson 

Pioneer  Founders  of  Publishing  Houses  that  Bear  Their  Names 


home  and  school,  in  church  and  state,  on  the  broad  prairies  and 
in  the  busy  marts.  It  is  indeed  sad  to  think  that  most  of  these 
papers  have  been  destroyed,  and  of  some  of  them  there  is  not  a 
single  copy  left  in  any  historical  depository. 

Only  a  newspaper !    Quick  read,  quick  lost, 
Who  sums  the  treasure  that  it  carries  hence? 
Torn,  trampled  under  feet,  who  counts  thy  cost, 
Star-eyed  Intelligence? 

It  may  be  that  the  books  penned  by  theNorwegian  immigrants 
and  their  children  during  this  period,  1860-1890,  cannot  be  called 

immortal.  The  pioneers  were  as  yet  too  busy 
Books  with    the    work    of    clearing    the   ground    and 

building  the  foundations  of  home,  school, 
church,  state,  industry,  society,  to  find  time  to  write  artistic  litera- 
ture, belles  lettres.  What  books  they  did  write,  were  written  as  a 
rule  to  meet  some  practical  requirements,  to  satisfy  some  deep- 
felt  want. 

a.    Theological  Works 

Next  to  their  homes  and  their  work  the  pioneers  were  con- 
cerned about  their  religion.  They  had  to  be  supplied  with  Bibles, 
hymn  books,   catechisms,    postils   and   other   Christian   literature. 


The  N  or  we  gian- American  Period 


295 


There  was  no  attempt  by  the  Lutherans  to  write  anything  in  the 
field  of  Biblical  theology,  such  as  commentaries  and  introduction. 
Most  of  the  books  were  written  by  clergymen.  One  bibliography 
enumerates  115  books  by  Norwegian  Lutheran  pastors,  1860-1890, 
— 26  in  dogmatic  theology,  38  in  historical  theology,  and  51 
in  practical  theology.  In  dogmatic  theology  there  was  consider- 
able writing  on  the  subject  of  Predestination  by  such  men  as: 
N.  Amlund,  A.  Bredesen,  O.  N.  Fosmark,  H.  Halvorsen,  U. 
V.  Koren,  J.  I.  Krohn,  I.  G.  Monson,  P.  A.  Rasmussen,  F. 
A.  Schmidt  and  H.  G.  Stub.  A.  H.  Gjevre  wrote  on  the 
Sabbath,  O.  Juul  and  O.  J.  Norby  wrote  on  Baptism,  A.  Wright 
wrote  on  Redemption,  N.  T.  Ylvisaker  wrote  on  the  Gospel 
and   Absolution.      The   doctrines   of   the  sects   were   analyzed  by 


Dean  C.  P.  Lommen      Dr.  H.  P.  K.  Agersborg    J.  A.  O.  Larsen.  A.M. 
Biology,  U.  of  S.  Dak.  Zoology,  Jas.  Millikin  U.    History,  U.  of  Wash. 

O.  L.  Kirkeberg  and  I.  G.  Monson;  the  religion  of  the  lodges, 
by  J.  B.  Frich  and  H.  G.  Stub.  In  historical  theology  the  ground 
covered  was  general  church  history,  the  history  of  the  synods,  the 
story  of  the  colleges,  personal  memoirs.  Among  the  historians 
were  such  writers  as:  O.  B.  Asperheim,  J.  A.  Bergh,  S.  R.  Gun- 
nersen,  S.  M.  Krogness,  H.  A.  Preus,  A.  Weenaas,  M.  Shirley, 
J.  T.  Ylvisaker  and  J.  C.  Roseland.  In  practical  theology  E.  K. 
Thuland,  a  "Norsk  Lsesebog,"  3  volumes  (1882)  ;  B.  J.  I.  Muus, 
'Til  Mine  Konfirmander"  (1890);  K.  L.  Lundeby,  "Fra  Mis- 
sionsmarken  i  Dakota"  (1884);  J.  A.  Bergh,  "Hans  Egede" 
(1886)  ;  K.  B.  Birkeland,  "Missionens  Betydning  for  den  Kristne 
Menighed"  (1888);  Georg  Sverdrup,  "Diakonissegjerningen" 
(1888);  N.  T.  Ylvisaker,  "Seks  Prsedikener"  (1876);  F.  E. 
Wulfsberg,  "Praedikener  over  Kirkeaarets  Evangelier"  (1888); 
D.  Lysnes,  "Scrivers  Sjseleskat"  (1874);  J.  M.  Eggen,  "For- 
lovelsen"  (1889);  M.  P.  Ruh,  "Guds  Evige  Pagt"  (1874);  C. 
O.  Broliaugh,  "B0rnenes  Harpe"  (1879)  ;  M.  F.  Gjertsen,  "Hjem- 
landssange"  (1887)  ;  J.  P.  Gjertsen,  "Missionssange  for  Israel" 
(1881)  ;  G.  Hoyme  and  L.  Lund,  "Harpen"  (1878-88)  ;  E.  Jensen, 
"BoYneharpen"   (1883);   "Scandinavian  Songs"   (1890),  "Koral- 


296 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


J.  J.  Fuhr 


bog"  (1880);  Isaac  Jenson,  "Nogle 
Aandelige  Sange"  (1860)  ;  T.  S.  Reime- 
stad,  "Afholdssange"  (1888)  ;  O.  Walde- 
land,  "Missionssalmer"  (1888);  M.  F. 
Wiese,  "Lidt  Salmehistorie"  (1879);  A. 
Wright,  "Turtelduen"  (1877)  ;  P.  G.  0st- 
by,  "Sangbog  for  Bom"  (1885). 

Of  religious  books  by  non-Lutherans 
mention  may  be  made  of  the  works  of 
Andrew  Haagensen  and  J.  H.  Johnson, 
Methodist  pastors,  and  Kristofer  Janson, 
Unitarian  pastor.  Haagensen  was  editor 
of  the  Methodist  church  paper  "Mission- 
aeren,"  1870-1877,  of  the  church  organ 
"Den  Kristelige  Talsmand,"  1880-1884, 
1890-1897.  He  was  author  of  a  "trench- 
ant volume  entitled  'Methodism  and  Lu- 
theranism  Compared' ;  also  The  Norwe- 
gian and  Danish  Mission  History'  and  an 
illustrated  Bible  history,  all  in  the  Nor- 
wegian language."  J.  H.  Johnson  issued 
a  volume  of  sermons,  "Opvaekkelses  Prae- 
dikener,"  in  1880.  Kr.  Janson  (1841- 
1917)  had  been  a  poet,  novelist  and  school 
teacher  in  Gudbrandsdalen,  Norway. 
In  1879  and  1880  he  made  a  visit 
to  the  United  States.  In  1881  he 
returned  to  become  pastor  of  a  Nor- 
wegian Unitarian  congregation  at 
Minneapolis.  While  here,  he  kept  up 
his    remarkably    productive    literary    ac- 


A.  X.  Rygg 


P.  O.  Thorson 
Publishers  and  Editors 


Carl  G.  O.  Hansen 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


297 


tivity.  Among  his  writings  were:  "Sal- 
mer  og  Sange  for  Kirke  og  Hjem,"  1883  ; 
"Jesus-Sangene,"  1893;  "Lys  og  Frihed : 
Praedikener,"  1892 ;  "Har  Ortodoxien 
Ret?"  He  published  a  Unitarian  paper, 
"Saamanden,"  and  several  novels  dealing 
with  Norwegian- American  life.  Unitari- 
anism  did  not  make  very  strong  appeals 
to  the  Norwegians.  Janson  himself 
drifted  over  to  Spiritualism,  and  the  Uni- 
tarian congregations  he  founded  have 
faded  away  with  the  exception  of  one,  on 
Mt.  Pisgah,  at  Hanska,  Minnesota,  served 
by  Amandus  Norman.  Janson  returned 
to  Norway  in  1894.  The  Norwegian  Con- 
gregationalists  published  a  hymnal  that 
has  been  quite  extensively  used  in  some 
of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  churches  of 
Chicago. 

b.    Poetry  and  Fiction 

The  oldest  piece  of  poetry  written  by 
a  Norwegian-American  was  composed 
for  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  on  the 
good  ship  iEgir  in  1837.  The  poet  was 
Ole  Rynning.  The  poem  struck  the  key- 
note for  two  or  more  generations  of  sweet 
singers  of  Norwegian  birth  and  descent 
— a  love  of  two  countries.  It  was  entitled 
"Til  Norge"  (To  Norway).  The  second 
stanza  has  been  rendered,  in  free  transla- 
tion, by  Theodore  C.  Blegen  as  follows : 


Kr.    Prestgard 


Wm.  M.  Pettersen 


Ton  Xorstog 
Poets  and  Novelists 


Peer  O.   Stromme 


298 


Nonvegian  People  in  America 


N.  N.  Ronning 


K.  C.  Holtcr 


Though  Destiny;  as  Leif  and  Bj0rn, 
Call   Northern   son  to  alien   West, 

Yet  will   his  heart   in  memory  turn 
To   native  mountains  loved  the  best, 

As  longs  the  heart  of  a  lone  son 

To  his  loved  home  once  more  to  come. 

It  is  believed  that  the  first  Norwegian- 
American  who  seriously  took  up  the  task 
of  writing  literature  was  Hjalmar  Hjort 
Boyesen.  He  was  born  in  Norway  in 
1848  and  died  in  New  York  in  1895.  He 
immigrated  to  America  in  1868  and  was 
assistant  editor  of  the  Norwegian  paper 
"Fremad,"  Chicago,  in  1868-1871.  There- 
upon he  obtained  a  position  as  teacher  of 
German  at  Urban  University.  Ohio*  1871- 
1874;  at  Cornell  University,  1874-1880; 
and  at  Columbia  University,  1880-1895. 
His  first  book  was  the  novel  "Gunnar," 
a  story  of  Norway.  His  first  volume  of 
poetry  was  "Idyls  of  Norwav  and  Other 
Poems,"  1882. 

The  Father  of  Norwegian-American 
Literature  is  Ole  A.  Buslett.  He  was 
born  in  Gausdal,  Norway,  May  28,  1855. 
Came  to  Northland,  Waupaca  County, 
Wisconsin,  in  1868.  Has  been  a  farmer, 
merchant,  postmaster,  justice  of  peace, 
member  of  the  legislature,  editor  and 
author.  His  writings  are  a  battle  for 
the  best  in  Norwegian-American  life. 
His  own  life  was  very  honest  and  noble. 
On  May  17,  1909,  when  he  was  at  Madi- 
son, the  state  legislature  adjourned  to 
hear  him  give  a  Seventeenth  of  May  ora- 
tion in  the  capitol.  His  writings  have  ap- 
peared in  a  great  variety  of  periodicals. 
In  January,  1922,  he  began  a  magazine, 
"Buslett's,"  in  which  he  aimed  to  reprint 
these  articles  in  30  issues.  But  he  died, 
June  5,  1924,  before  this  goal  was 
reached.  His  first  book  was  a  story, 
"Fram,"  which  appeared  in  1882.  The 
next  year  he  published  two  poems  in 
book  form,  "Skaars  Skjaebne"  and 
"Oistein  og  Nora,"  pioneer  tales  in  verse; 
also  a  history  of  the  Fifteenth  Wiscon- 


A.    M.    Sundheim 


Norwegian  Publishers  of  Note 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


299 


sin  Regiment,  enlarged  and  re-issued  in 
1893.  These  were  succeeded  by  a  six- 
act  drama,  "De  To  Veivisere,"  in  1885  ; 
"Digte  og  Sange,"  in  1889;  a  tragedy, 
"Et  Dozens  Tegn,"  and  a  comedy,  "Snip- 
snap-snude."  Most  of  his  writings  are 
in  prose,  not  poetry.  Other  Norwegian 
poets  in  the  '80s  are  Edvard  Larssen 
("Politiske  RoVere,"  1885),  John  Benson 
("Ved  Grv  og  Kveld,"  1889),  and  Wil- 
helm  M.  Pettersen  ("Digte,"  1890). 

Boyesen  was  the  first  Norwegian  to 
publish  a  novel  in  English.  It  seems  that 
Andreas  Wright  was  the  first  to  publish 
a  story  in  Norwegian.  His  allegory, 
"Gjenlo'ser  blandt  Syndere,"  was  set  up, 
printed  and  bound  in  1881  in  the  Wright 
parsonage  at  Rushford,  Minnesota,  by 
Wright  and  his  daughter  Anna,  who  is 
now  a  ward  school  principal  at  Minne- 
apolis (Jackson  and  Clay  Schools).  In 
1882  Buslett  published  his  story  "Fram" 
and  Kristofer  Janson  his  collection  of  his- 
torical stories,  "Vore  Bedsteforaeldre." 
Two  other  writers  of  fiction  appeared — 
Hans  A.  Foss  and  Bernt  Askevold. 

Boyesen's  novels  were  all  in  English 
— "Gunnar,"  1874;  "Norseman's  Pil- 
grimage," 1875 ;  "Tales  from  Two  Hem- 
ispheres," 1876;  "Falconberg,"  1878; 
"Against  Heavy  Odds,"  1880;  "Ilka  on 
the  Hill  Top,"  1881;  "Oueen  Titania," 
1882;  "A  Daughter  of  the  Philistines," 
1883;  "Norseland  Tales,"  1884;  "A  Dar- 
ing Fiction,"  1885;  "The  Modern  Vik- 
ings," 1887.  Buslett's  tales  are  in  Nor- 
wegian— "Rolf  Hagen,"  1893 ;  "Saga- 
stolen,"  1900;  "Folkefaerd  og  Dumfaerd," 
1908;  "Glans-om-sol,"  1911.  Kr.  Janson's 
chief  aim  seemed  to  be  to  undo  the  work 
of  the  Norwegian  Synod  pastors,  never- 
theless his  stories  are  very  interesting — 
"Praeriens  Saga,"  1885;  "Vildrose," 
1887;  "Et  Arbeidsdyr,"  1889;  "Bag  Gar- 
dinet,"  1890;  and  others.  His  wife, 
Drude  Krog  Janson,  published  in  1887  a 
novel  entitled  "En  Ung  Pige" ;  in   1888 

Four  Editors  of  Lutheraneren 


Thore    Eggen 


J.  M.  Sundheim 


300 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


she  had  another  novel  ready,  "Ensomhed,"  and  in  1894,  yet 
another,  "En  Saloonkeepers  Datter."  Another  woman  writer, 
Ingrid  Berrum,  made  quite  a  success  with  her  idyllic  "Familien  paa 
Stjerneklip,"  published  late  in  the  '80s.  H.  A.  Foss  is  a  newspaper 
man.  He  has  edited  "Nordmanden,"  Grand  Forks,  and  "Nye  Nor- 
manden,"  Minneapolis,  and  other  journals.  Born  in  1851,  he 
emigrated  from  Norway  in  1878.  He  taught  school  and  worked 
as  a  farm  hand.  In  the  winter  of  1884  he  wrote  his  "Husmands- 
gutten,"  which  he  published  first  as  a  serial  in  "Decorah  Posten." 
The  story  was  popular.  It  increased  the  subscription  list  of 
"Decorah  Posten"  by  6.000  new  subscribers  in  one  winter.  It 
is  still  a  good  seller  in  book  form.  In  1885  he  wrote  "Kristine." 
Later  he  wrote  "Livet  i  Vesterheimen,"  "Hvide  Slaver,"  and 
"Den  Amerikanske  Saloon."    The  last  mentioned  book  has  been 


Amandus  Norman 
Unitarian 


Dr.  R.  A.  Jernberg 
Congregationalist 


Dr.  Henrik  Gundersen 
Baptist 


translated  into  English  by  J.  J.  Sk^rdalsvold  and  bears  the  title, 
"Tobias,  a  Story  of  the  Northwest."  It  is  perhaps  Foss's  best 
work.  Askevold's  "Familien  paa  Skovsaet,"  "I  de  Gamles  Sted," 
"Et  Barns  DoM"  and  "Trang  Vei"  are  worthy  stories  by  a  worthy 
pastor. 

c.  Other  Books 
Books  cover  many  fields  besides  theology,  poetry  and  fiction, 
but  not  many  of  these  were  cultivated  during  this  period.  Boyesen 
tried  his  hand  at  history  and  literary  criticism.  His  "Story  of 
Norway"  (1876)  is  found  in  public  school  and  private  libraries 
generally;  it  was  written  1,000  years  after  the  Norsemen  dis- 
covered Greenland  (America).  His  standard  book  on  "Goethe 
and  Schiller"  (1879)  has  been  translated  into  German,  Norwegian 
and  Russian.  His  work  on  Ibsen  (1893)  was  sold  out  within 
ten  years — cannot  now  be  had  at  any  price.  His  "Essays  on 
Scandinavian  Literature"  (1895)  is  a  work  of  the  first  order. 
Knud  Henderson  was  the  first  Norwegian  in  America  to  teach 
Norwegian  singing  school  and  the  first  to  write  a  "Koralbog" 
(Choral   book)    and   instruction    books    for   playing   and   singing 


The  Norwegian- American  Period 


301 


J.  Dorrum  O.  E.  R0lvaag 

Professors  of  Norwegian 


J.  A.  Holvik 


(1865).  Emil  J.  Petersen  wrote  a  text  book  in  shorthand  in 
1886,  and  H.  Roalkvam  wrote  a  text  book  in  catechetics  in  1881. 
These  were  forerunners  to  a  many-sided  literary  activity  in  the 
Third  Period,  1890-1925,  when  the  Norwegians  have  become 
thoroughly  acclimatized  and  have  leisure  to  write. 

8.  Miscellaneous  Matters 
A  number  of  other  interesting  and  vital  topics  belong  to  the 
history  of  this  period,  such  as,  occupations,  publishing  houses, 
foreign  missions,  home  missions,  charitable  institutions,  associa- 
tions, science  and  art,  home  life,  public  life,  representative  men 
and  women,  relative  place  and  influence,  but  space  does  not 
permit  any  discussion  at  all.  "The  half  has  never  yet  been  told." 
Some  day  these  noble  deeds  of  the  Norwegians  in  America  will 
be  adequately  written  up.  And  many  of  them  will  live  in  the 
memory  of  the  nation. 

For  the  good  deed,  through  the  ages 
Living  in  historic  pages, 
Brighter   grows   and   gleams   immortal, 
Unccnsumed  by  moth  or  rust. 


F.  L.  Tronsdal  Taaraand  Vik  Julius  J.  Hopperstad 

Book  and  Subscription  Agents 


Laurits  Selmcr  Swenson 
Minister  of  the  U.  S.  to  Norway 


Helmer  H.   Bryn 
Minister  of  Norway  to  the  U.  S. 


Chapter   VII 


AMERICAN   PERIOD,   1890-1925 

The  third  period  of  the  century  that  we  are  reviewing  may 
be  called  the  American  Period.  It  begins  around  the  year  1890 
and  occupies  35  years  of  time.  In  this  period  we  shall  find  that 
the  Norwegians  in  America  are  far  more  American  than  Nor- 
wegian and  that  they  are  assuming  positions  of  trust  and  influence 
in  state  and  nation  as  though  they  were  to  the  manor  born.  In 
1925,  at  least  five  of  the  48  governors  of  the  United  States  happen 
to  be  Norwegian  and  a  sixth  governor  is  Norwegian  in  his  re- 
mote ancestry.  In  the  Norwegian  Period,  no  Norwegian  could  ever 
have  reached  the  governor's  chair.  Such  things  do  not  happen.  In 
the  Norwegian-American  Period,  it  might  have  happened,  but  it 
didn't.  In  the  American  Period,  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should 
not  happen. to  a  man  of  Norwegian  descent  as  well  as  to  a  des- 
cendant of  Irish  or  English  forebears.  The  Norwegians  in  this 
period  are  in  every  way  native  to  the  American  soil  just  as  their 
fathers  before  them  were  born  and  bred  in  America.  They  are 
Americans  all,  even  if  one-half  of  them  still  can  speak  Norwegian 
and  are  familiar  with  Norwegian  culture.  They  are  100  per  cent 
Americans  even  if  they  all  nourish  kindly  thoughts  of  the  land 
of  the  North  that  gave  birth  to  their  grandsires. 

It  can  be  truly  said  even  of  the  immigrant,  theNorwegian  of 


The  American  Period 


303 


the  Norwegian  Period,  if  you  please,  that  he,  too,  can  be  100 
per  cent  American,  notwithstanding  all  the  unjust  things  which 
have  been  said  to  the  contrary  during  the  recent  War  and  since. 
Speaking  on  this  point,  Kristian  Prestgard  very  aptly  remarks : 
"Lately  much  has  been  spoken  and  written  about  this  matter,  but 
the  amount  of  nonsense  which  has  been  uttered  reveals  an 
astonishing  ignorance  of  the  difficult  position  of  the  immigrant. 
I  do  not  refer  merely  to  the  hysterical  absurdity  to  which  we 
were  treated  during  the  war.  But  even  highly  cultivated  and 
intelligent  men  and  women  have  talked  away  about  these  things 
without  thinking.   Even  former  President  Roosevelt,  who  was  such 


First  Norwegian  Church  Built  in  Washington, 
at  Stanwood,  1878,  Destroyed  by  Fire,  1892 


a  master  in  coining  striking  phrases,  said  once  that  it  was  just  as 
impossible  to  love  two  countries  at  the  same  time,  as  to  be  faith- 
ful to  two  women.  Now,  I  am  sure  that  I  am  'in  no  way  an  ex- 
ception when  I  state  that  I  have  loved  two  women  at  the  same 
time,  and  that,  as  far  as  I  know,  I  have  been  faithful  to  both. 
One  of  them  was  my  mother;  the  other,  my  wife.  It  has  never 
occurred  to  me  that  I  loved  my  wife  less  because  I  also  loved  my 
mother,  and  I  am  sure  that  President  Roosevelt  would  have  said 
the  same.  But  without  thinking  he  coined  a  phrase  that  has  done 
great  harm." 

Now,  if  it  can  be  said  of  an  immigrant  that  he  can  be  100 
per  cent  American  and  still  be  deeply  attached  to  the  land  he  for- 
sook, it  surely  ought  to  be  true  of  the  Norwegians  of  the  third, 
fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  generations  born  on  American  soil  and 
carefully  nurtured  in  American  ideals.  "The  American-born  Nor- 
wegians would  love  America  even  if  they  had  never  been  taught 
to  do  so.  It  is  natural  for  a  man  to  love  his  native  land,  as 
natural  as  for  him  to  care  for  his  kith  and  kin. 


304  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Breathes  there  the  man  with  soul  so  dead, 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 
This  is  my  own,   my  native  land  ! 
Whose  heart  hath  ne'er  within  him  burned, 
As  home  his  footsteps  he  hath  turned, 
From  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand  ! 

1.    Historical  Background,  1890-1925 

Modern  civilization,  through  railroads  and  telegraphs,  through 
steamships  and  cable-grams,  through  airplanes  and  radio,  tends 
to  draw  mankind  closer  together  in  under- 
Europe  standing  and  sympathy  and  unity  of  purpose. 

It  should  make  it  easier  to  understand  the 
Gospel  message  that  all  men  are  brothers.  But,  sad  to  say,  national 
rivalries  and  antipathies  have  been  developing  alongside  the 
growth  in  internationalism.  The  countries  of  Europe  have  been 
promoting  patriotism  at  any  cost,  deifying  their  own  flags,  and 
engaging  in  a  mad  race  to  get  ahead  of  their  neighbors  in  the 
amount  of  land  possessions  and  the  ability  to  fight.  America  has 
been  just  as  imprudent  as  the  European  powers.  When  Roose- 
velt visited  Norway,  he  addressed  the  Norwegian  Storthing.  "If 
you  want  peace,"  said  he,  "prepare  for  war.  Prepare  so  well  that 
they  will  not  dare  to  touch  you." 

Meanwhile,  the  nations  of  Europe  had  been  pursuing  a  policy 
of  intense  national  expansion.  They  built  up  their  countries 
internally  and  then  looked  around  for  colonies  to  annex.  Ger- 
many was  most  aggressive  in  her  industrial  and  commercial  work, 
rapidly  gaining  on  England,  which  had  held  the  lead  for  a  cen- 
tury. There  was  a  good  deal  of  war  talk  and  much  preparing  for 
war.  Carnegie  endowed  a  Peace  Palace  and  kept  a  Peace 
Tribunal  at  the  Hague,  but  the  commissioners  who  were  sent 
there  returned  home  only  to  find  that  their  countries  were  going 
into  militarism  and  navalism  wTorse  than  ever.  Carnegie  wrote 
strong  tracts  to  prove  that  we  could  never  again  have  a  war  be- 
cause we  were  so  highly  civilized  and  had  so  much  commercially 
at  stake,  but  he  let  his  factories  construct  warships  and  manufac- 
ture ammunition.  The  nations  were  afraid  of  one  another  in  spite 
of  the  influences  toward  internationalism.  Germany,  Austria  and 
Italy  in  1882  formed  a  Triple  Alliance  to  go  to  each  other's 
assistance  in  case  of  need.  France  and  Russia  promptly  made  a 
Dual  Alliance,  in  1884,  and  England  joined  them  informally  in 
a  Triple  Entente.  So  the  great  powers  of  Europe  were  aligned 
in  these  two  hostile  bands.  They  had  sown  the  wind  and  in  due 
season  they  reaped  the  whirlwind. 

During  the  intense  race  for  national  improvement  from  1890 
to  1914,  when  the  war  broke  out,  times  were  very  good  in  Ger- 
manv  and  England,  and  the  emigration  was  reduced  very  ma- 
terially.   In  the  decade   1881-1890,    1,452,970  Germans   came  to 


The  American  Period  305 

America,  while  in  the  decade  1891-1900,  only  543,922  arrived 
here,  and  in  1901-1910,  only  341,498.  The  falling  off  of  English 
emigrants  was  also  great.  Now  the  War  is  over,  leaving  so  much 
wreckage  in  its  trail,  many  would  naturally  like  to  get  away  from 
all  their  war  debts  and  sorrows,  and  start  anew  here  in  America. 
Our  immigration  which  was  much  reduced  during  the  war,  would 
be  larger  in  volume  than  ever  before.  But  there  are  at  least  two 
factors  which  have  kept  the  Central  Europeans  at  home :  They 
have  been  too  poor  to  come,  and  we  limited  the  number  of  those 
who  may  enter. 

Norway  was  one  of  the  few  countries  that  did  not  enter  the 
World  war.    Like  the  rest  of   Scandinavia,   Norway   maintained 

its  neutrality  throughout  those  terrible  years, 
Norway  1914-1918.    On  the  whole  Norway  fared  well 

during  the  war  and  has  made  much  material 
progress  since  1890.  The  greatest  event  in  this  period  is  the 
peaceful  negotiation  with  Sweden  and  the  house  of  Oscar  II, 
which  resulted  in  the  separation  of  Norway  from  Sweden,  in 
1905.  Norway  was  an  independent  nation  before  the  separation, 
but  since  the  separation  this  fact  does  not  have  to  be  asserted 
and  proved  in  season  and  out  of  season.  The  country  has  wit- 
nessed a  phenomenal  industrial  growth  since  1905.  There  have 
been  hard  times,  especially  since  the  War.  The  newer  arrivals 
from  Norway  are  as  a  rule  city  bred  people  and  they  prefer  to 
settle  in  the  cities. 

In  the  United  States,  since  1890,  Benjamin  Harrison   (1889- 

1893),  Grover  Cleveland  (1893-1897),  William  McKinley  (1897- 

1901),  Theodore  Roosevelt  (1901-1909),  Wil- 

America  Ham  H.  Taft  (1909-1913),  Woodrow  Wilson 

(1913-1921),    Warren     G.     Harding     (1921- 

1923),  and  Calvin  Coolidge  (1923 )  have  been  elected  to  the 

presidency  of  the  country.  Vast  changes  have  taken  place  during 
the  35  years  here  marked  off. 

Under  Harrison  the  McKinley  Protective  Tariff  (1890)  was 
passed.  By  means  of  this  law  the  trusts  of  the  United  States 
have  been  protected  at  the  expense  of  the  consumer,  and  a  fine 
crop  of  millionaires  was  produced.  Roosevelt  was  made  a  civil 
service  commissioner  in  1890,  and  he  was  able  to  rally  fresh 
enthusiasm  about  him  in  the  hope  of  getting  reforms  in  an  "orgy 
of  spoils/' 

Under  Cleveland  the  Columbian  Exposition  was  held  in  Chi- 
cago in  1893.  The  attendance  was  27,000,000.  The  fair  brought 
the  world  to  Chicago  and  Chicago  to  the  world. 

The  world  went  Columbus-mad.  A  secret  order,  the  Knights 
of  Columbus,  was  organized  in  1882  within  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  a  Columbus  Day  as  a  legal  holiday  was  inaugurated 


306 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


in  many  states.  The  references  to  Leif  Erikson  in  the  school 
histories  were  weeded  out  of  most  of  them.  Men  sneered  at  the 
idea  that  the  Viking  could  have  crossed  the  ocean  in  an  open  boat. 
Spain  decided  to  make  three  ships  exactly  like  the  three  of 
Columbus  fame  and  they  were  towed  to  America  by  a  man-of- 
war.  The  pride  of  the  Norseman,  Magnus  Andersen,  was  hurt. 
He  would  vindicate  the  historical  name  and  fame  of  his  native 
land  on  the  seas.  He  made  an  exact  replica  of  the  Viking  ship 
found  at  Gogstad,  and  with  eleven  men  sailed  over  to  the  United 
States  without  the  aid  of  anything  except  a  small  sail  and  twelve 
pairs  of  oars  plied  by  twelve  pairs  of  stout  arms.  They  left 
Bergen  May  1,  1893,  and  reached  New  London,  Vinland,  June  13, 
after  44  days'  sailing, — "with  Jesus  in  the  boat,"  as  F.  T.  Bullen 
says  in  his  book  "With  Christ  at  Sea." 

Norway    did    not    take    any   notice    of    the    deed    of    Captain 
Magnus  Andersen  until  25  years  later,  and  then  not  until  Captain 


The  Viking  Boat,  1893 


Rasmus  E.  Rasmussen 


Andersen  himself  had  given  an  anniversary  dinner  to  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  expedition.  America  was  for  the  moment  very 
enthusiastic  about  the  success  of  the  venture  and  greeted  the  boat 
as  it  sailed  up  to  the  Chicago  Exposition  Grounds  with  the  boom- 
ing of  cannon.  The  American  historians  paid  no  attention  to  the 
feat  and  gradually  eliminated  from  the  American  consciousness 
the  story  of  the  Norsemen  five  centuries  before  the  coming  of 
Columbus.  A  student  at  Luther  College,  high  school  trained,  said 
to  his  teacher :  "The  story  of  the  Norse  voyages  is  a  myth.  You 
believe  it  because  you  want  to."  Although  Andersen's  boat  is  on 
exhibition  at  Lincoln  Park,  Chicago,  the  possibility  and  prob- 
ability of  the  Viking  voyages  is  generally  scoffed  at.  A  man 
convinced  against  his  will,  is  of  the  same  opinion  still.  History 
is  made  to  order,  and  it  is  hard  to  recast  it.  One  of  the  twelve 
who  rowed  over  in  1893,  Rasmus  E.  Rasmussen,  fell  in  love  with 
America  and  finally  made  it  his  home.  He  became  a  slum  mis- 
sionary in  Brooklyn  and  like  Hercules  cleaned  out  abodes  of  the 
Devil  in  Hamilton  Avenue.    He  exchanged  his  sailor's  togs  for 


The  American  Period 


307 


the  pastor's  frock.  He  died  in  1912  as  a  Lutheran  pastor  at  Cox, 
South  Dakota.  His  son,  Elias,  was  a  pastor  in  Chicago,  1914- 
1921,  and  since  1921  he  has  been  located  at  Windom,  Minnesota. 
The  financial  panic  of  1893-1896  hit  the  country  under  Cleve- 
land. There  was  a  revolt  of  the  West.  Coxey's  Army  marched 
on  to  Washington.  For  many  years  the  farmers  had  been  organiz- 
ing themselves  under  various  names,  to  discuss  matters  belonging 
to  their  occupation  and  interests.  They  organized  the  People's 
Party  and  demanded  many  reforms  that  were  sorely  needed.  They 
agreed  with  the  Democrats  in  thinking  that  the  free  coinage  of 
silver  at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one  would  be  a  cure  for  the  panic 
and  voted  for  William  Jennings  Bryan  for  president.  Bryan  was 
then  a  young  man,  whose  marvellous  speech  "The  Cross  of  Gold," 
won  him  instantaneously  national  recognition  and  the  presidential 


Norwegian  Lutheran  Deaconess  Home,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
C.  O.  Pedersen,  Rector,  Mathilde  Gravdahl,  Supt.  of  Nurses 

nomination.  His  progressive  views  and  noble  life  have  endeared 
him  to  the  Norwegians,  even  when  they  have  felt  that  it  would 
be  more  practical  to  vote  for  a  Republican  candidate.  McKinley 
advocated  a  full  dinner  pail  a  la  Mark  Hanna  on  the  gold  stan- 
dard basis,  and  won  the  election. 

During  McKinley's  presidency  the  Spanish-American  War  was 
fought,  and  since  then  America  has  been  obliged  to  have  an 
imperialistic  policy. 

Under  Roosevelt  there  was  some  attempt  made  to  curb  the 
trusts.  He  advocated  the  conservation  of  natural  resources — for- 
ests, coal,  oil,  gas,  parks.  He  got  the  Panama  Canal  built,  though 
not  completed  before  1914. 

During  Taft's  peaceful  reign  Marconi  succeeded  in  sending 
wireless  messages  through 'the  air  and  the  Wright  brothers  took 
the  lead  in  inventing  ships  that  could  navigate  the  air. 

Wilson  "kept  us  out  of  the  War"  during  his  first  term  and 


308  Norwegian  People  in  America 

brought  us  into  it  as  soon  as  he  was  re-elected.  The  entrance  of 
America  seemed  to  have  been  the  most  decisive  factor  in  ending 
the  War.  The  American  effort  includes  4,000,000  men  drafted, 
$21,850,000,000.00  spent,  and  50,572  deaths  in  action.  Another 
bumper  crop  of  millionaires  was  produced  by  the  War,  an  increase 
of  nearly  300  per  cent.  The  number  who  had  a  net  income  of 
$50,000.00  and  over  in  1918  was  43,037;  67  of  these  had  a  per- 
sonal income  of  $1,000,000.00  and  over. 

Harding  called  the  country  back  to  normalcy  again  and  Coo- 
lidge  is  doing  his  best  to  keep  down  the  taxes. 

This  period  has  been  one  of  great  advances  in  almost  all  ma- 
terial lines.  The  best  prairie  lands  have  all  been  taken,  and  people 
are  flocking  to  the  cities.  The  farmer  may  think  that  he  has  not 
received  his  just  share  of  the  labor  of  his  hands,  still  he  lives  in 
a  modern  house,  and  drives  his  Ford  or  Buick  as  proudly 
as  his  town  brother.  The  changes  in  town  life  are  just  as  notice- 
able as  are  those  in  the  country.  Houses  and  streets  are  better. 
Candles  and  oil  lamps  are  replaced  by  gas  jets  and  electric  lamps. 
Pianos  and  victrolas  are  a  thousand  times  more  common  than 
spinning  wheels.  Schools  provide  ample  education  for  everybody. 
The  daily  news  is  delivered  free  to  the  farmer  as  to  the  towns- 
man. Libraries  freely  dispense  the  best  books  and  magazines. 
Industrial  workers  have  reduced  the  hours  of  labor  from  16  to 
8  hours  per  day  and  have  increased  the  minimum  wage.  Child 
labor  is  restricted.  Immigration  is  checked  by  a  network  of  "ver- 
botens." 

A  number  of  successful  expositions,  national  in  scope,  have 
been  held,  each  one  adding  a  chapter  to  the  story  of  amazing- 
progress  in  the  United  States.  The  Chicago  Fair  in  1893  was 
a  world's  fair  and  one  of  the  most  impressive.  In  many  ways  the 
succeeding  fairs  have  even  surpassed  the  great  Columbian.  In 
1895  the  Atlanta  Exposition,  in  1898  the  Omaha,  in  1901  the 
Buffalo,  in  1904  the  St.  Louis,  in  1905  the  Lewis  and  Clark  at 
Portland,  in  1907  the  Jamestown,  in  1909  the  Alaska-Yukon,  in 
1915  the  Panama-Pacific  at  San  Francisco  and  San  Diego,  in 
1920  the  Plymouth,  in  1921  the  America's  Making  at  New  York, 
each  has  tried  to  tell  from  some  point  of  view  the  most  up-to- 
date  story  of  progress,  the  like  of  which  the  pioneer  fathers 
never  dreamt.  Cleng  Peerson's  dream  has  been  realized,  thirty, 
sixty,  a  hundred  fold.  Soli  Deo  gloria.  And  "God  is  able  to  do 
exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  and  think"  (Eph. 
3:20). 

2.    Norwegian  Immigration,  1891-1924 
The   census    figures    for   emigration    from    Norway    and    im- 
migration to  the  United   States   never  agree.    The   discrepancies 
during  this  period  vary  from  2  in   1907^  to  4,005  in   1905.    The 


The  American  Period 


309 


Norwegian  statistics  include  all  who  leave  Norway  for  any  for- 
eign lands — United  States,  Canada,  Australia,  etc.  And  yet  the 
Norwegian  statistics  are  often  considerably  smaller  than  the  ac- 
tual number  of  Norwegians  registered  at  the  American  ports  of 
entry.  For  example,  in  1908  Norway  lost  by  emigration  8,497, 
but  we  gained  by  immigration  of  Norwegians  12,412  and  Canada 
gained  approximately  2,000  that  year.  That  is,  5,915  more  people 
are  recorded  as  having  arrived  in  the  United  States  and  Canada 
from  Norway  than  actually  left  Norway.  In  1909  the  United 
States  received  only  12,627  of  the  16,152  who  emigrated  from 
Norway.    The  comparative  tables  are  given  herewith. 

COMPARATIVE   IMMIGRATION   TABLES 


Year 


1891, 
1892 
i893 
1894 
1895. 
1896. 
1897. 
1898. 
1899, 
1900. 


u.  s. 

Norway 

Discrepancy 

Immigration 

Emigration 

U. 

S. 

Statistics 

Statistics 

Larger 

Smaller 

12,568 

I3,34i 

773 

14,325 

17,049 

2,724 

15,515 

18,778 

3,263 

9,111 

5,642 

3,469 

7,58i 

6,207 

i,374 

8,885 

6,679 

2,306 

5,842 

4,669 

i,i73 

4,938 

4,859 

79 

6,705 

6,699 

6 

9,575 

10,931 

i,356 

95,045 

94,854 

8,307 

8,116 

12,248 

12,745 

497 

17,484 

20,343 

2,859 

24,461 

.  26,784 

2,323 

22,808 

22,264 

544 

25,064 

21,059 

4,005 

21,730 

21,967 

237 

22,133 

22,135 

2 

12,412 

8,497 

3,915 

12,627 

16,152 

3,525 

17,538 

18,912 

1,374 

-1900. 
1901. 
1902. 

1903. 
1904. 
1005. 

1906. 
1907. 
1908. 
1909. 

1910. 


1901-1910 188,505 


190,858 


8,464 


10,817 


1891-1910 283,550 


285,712 


16,771 


i8,933 


1891-1918 343,503 


339,220  25,151  20,968 

the    27-year    period, 


These  comparative  figures  show,  in 
1891-1918,  a  discrepancy  of  4,283  in  favor  of  the  United  States. 
That  is,  the  United  States  has  received  4,283  more  Norwegians 
than  emigrated  from  Norway.  These  must  have,  like  the  famous 
Sloop  baby,  Margaret  Allen  Larsen,  been  born  on  the  passage 
across!  In  1911  Canada  made  a  census  -of  the  birthplace  of  her 
people.  Also  the  same  in  1921.  In  1911  14,354  of  the  Canadian 
citizens  were  born  in  Norway ;  in  1921,  68,856.  Some  of  these  may 
have  come  into  Canada  by  wav  of  the  States,  but  not  all  of  them. 


310  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The  census   statistics   for   Norway   in  this   period  are   therefore 
manifestly  too  small. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  immigration  from  Norway  as  well 
as  from  other  countries  fluctuates  with  the  business  cycle.  When 
times  are  hard  in  America,  immigration  is  slight;  when  times 
are  good,  immigration  is  heavy.  Good  times  over  there  keeps 
people  at  home.  Hard  times  brings  them  to  us.  Hunger  breaks 
down  stone  walls.    Money  makes  the  mare  go. 

3.    Norwegian  Population,  1890-1925 
A  question  often  asked,  but  never  answered  satisfactorily,  is : 
How  many  Norwegians  are  there  in  America  ?  It  is  hard  to  answer 
for  several  reasons : 


Madison  Normal  School,  E.  R.  Rorem,  President 

(1)  The  census  lists  only  two  generations  of  Norwegians — 
those  born  in  Norway,  who  came  here  as  immigrants  (1st  genera- 
tion) and  their  children  born  here  (2nd  generation).  The  census 
counts  all  children  born  af  native-born  parents  as  Americans. 

(2)  In  the  case  of  mixed  marriages  no  inquiry  is  made 
beyond  the  1st  generation.  Mixed  marriages  are  on  the  increase 
among  all  the  generations.  Thus,  in  the  earlier  periods  practically 
all  Norwegian  men  were  married  to  Norwegian  women  and  vice 
versa.  In  1890  0.16  per  cent  of  the  marriages — only  one  out  of 
600 — among  the  immigrants  were  mixed — Norwegian  husband 
and  Swedish  wife,  Danish  husband  and  Norwegian  wife,  etc.  In 
1910  the  number  of  mixed  marriages  among  the  1st  generation 
had  increased  to  8.4  per  cent;  in  1920,  to  11.2  per  cent.  In  1890, 
11.1  per  cent  of  the  Norwegians  born  here  secured  a  help- 
meet from  some  other  nationality;  in  1900,  22.9  per  cent;  in  1910, 
28.6  per  cent ;  and  in  1920,  33.8  per  cent.  In  the  third  generation 
the  tendency  to  secure  a  spouse  from  some  other  race  is  still 
greater,  and  in  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  generations  marriage 


The  American  Period  311 

with  a  Norwegian  is  the  exception,  not  the  rule.  Very  few  of 
the  Slooper  descendants  have  married  Norwegians.  None  of  the 
57  descendants  of  Lars  Larson  has  married  a  Norwegian;  only 
one  of  the  36  descendants  of  Qle  Johnson  had  a  Norwegian  mate. 
The  blood  of  a  dozen  nationalities  flows  in  the  veins  of  the  Ros- 
dails;  B.  F.  Stangland  has  been  in  the  public  eye  of  New  York 
and  Rochester  for  50  years,  but  nobody  knew  that  he  was  a  Nor- 
wegian until  the  other  day  when  he  was  mentioned  in  an  article 
on  the  Sloopers  by  Mrs.  Anna  Danielson  Parker  of  Kendall.  His 
mother  was  an  American  and  all  the  rest  of  the  Stanglands  have 
married  outside  of  the  Norwegian  race.  It  is  impossible  to  esti- 
mate correctly  how  many  persons  have  a  Norse  strain. 

The  white  population  in  1820  was  7,866,297.  If  we  use  two 
as  the  multiplier  on  the  number  representing  the  1st  two  genera- 
tions of  immigrant  population,  which  is  approximately  the  same 
as  the  total  immigration  during  the  century,  then  we  shall  still 
have  a  balance  of  over  22,000,000  whites  to  account  for.  They 
can  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that  while  the  immigrants  have 
doubled  their  numbers,  the  7,866,297  who  lived  in  this  country  in 
1820,  have  trebled  their  numbers.  Three  times  7,866,297  equals 
23,598,891.  This  was  the  size  of  the  old  colonial  stock  in  1920. 
Even  C.  S.  Burr,  who  is  particularly  biased  toward  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  in  his  "America's  Race  Heritage,"  does  not  call  for  a 
much  larger  figure  than  this.  He  says  that  25,046,962  is  a  fair 
approximation  in  the  year  1920  for  the  descendants  of  the  Old 
Immigration,  that  is,  the  white  population  of   1820. 

(3)  The  census  depends  for  its  correctness  on  the  complete- 
ness and  accuracy  of  the  returns.  It  was  not  popular  after  the 
War  to  have  been  born  in  a  foreign  land  or  to  be  of  foreign 
descent  other  than  British.  Looking  at  the  census  returns,  one 
is  forced  to  think  at  least  that  there  must  have  been  some  pretty 
tall  lying  during  the  taking  of  the  census. 

But  people  want  to  know  how  many  Norwegians  there  are 
in  America,  and  so  many  guesses  have  been  ventured,  ranging 
from  1,000,000  to  5,000,000.  The  two  following  methods  are  given 
as  being  fairly  scientific  and  reasonably  accurate : 

In  1920  the  foreign  white  stock  in  the  United  States  numbered 
36,398,958,  made  up  of   13,712,754  foreign-born  and  22,686,204 

native  born  of  foreign-born  parentage.  Since 
Method  of  1820   the    immigration    to   the    United    States 

Multipliers  has  been   very  heavy.    During  the    100  years 

from  1820-1919  the  white  immigrants  totaled 
31,200,103.  The  immigrants  raise  large  families.  Counting  the 
immigrant  parents  who  came  as  the  1st  generation,  then  from 
three  to  six  generations  have  lived  in  this  country.  Some  of  the 
Norwegian  Slooper  families,  for  example,  have  six  generations. 


312  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The  census  accounts  for  only  the  first  two  generations.  On  the 
basis  of  individual  studies  of  families,  it  is  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  the  census  returns  for  the  two  generations  can  be  multi- 
plied by  two  as  a  general  average  multiplier.  For  the  newer  races 
— Russians,  Italians,  Austrians — this  multiplier  is  too  high;  for 
the  older  races — English,  Irish, German — this  is  too  small.  For 
the  Norwegians  it  is  just  right.  They  have  been  coming  the  whole 
century  and  belong  rather  to  the  Old  Immigration  than  the  New. 
Now,  two  times  1,023,225,  the  census  statistics  of  Norwegians  for 
1920  equals  2,046,445,  an  estimate  of  Norwegians  in  1920. 

Another  way  is  to  estimate  the  number  of  Norwegians  in  the 
third,  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  generations  of  each  census  and  add 

these  numbers  to  the  census  returns.  The 
Method  of  estimate  must  be  based  on  a  fixed  reasonable 

Generations  standard,  as,  for  example,  five  children  to  each 

Norwegian  family.  Adopting  this  standard, 
one  arrives  at  the  following  conclusion : 

NORWEGIAN  POPULATION  BY  GENERATIONS 
First  Generation   (Census) 

Year  Norwegians  Year  Norwegians 

1830 100  1880 181,729 

1840 1,000  1890 322,665 

1850 12,678  1900 338,426 

i860 43,995  1910 403,858 

1870 114,246  1920 362,174 

Second   Generation    (Census) 

1830 5  1880 109,037 

1840 100  1890 273,466 

1850 1 ,902  1900 449,410 

i860 io,999  1910..    575,241 

1870 45,698  1920 661,174 

Third  Generation   (Estimate) 

1850 2  1890 48,651 

i860 64  1900 167,912 

1870 1,261  1910 446,202 

1880 9,503  1920 989JH 

Fourth  Generation   (Estimate) 

1870 11  1900 6,136 

1880 32  1910 36,250 

1890 673  1920 151,613 

Fifth   Generation    (Estimate) 

1890 o  1910 370 

1900 17  J920 3,714 

Sixth   Generation    (Estimate) 

1910 o  1920 12 


The  American  Period 


313 


Total  Nonvegians 


1st  2nd 

Year  Gen.  Gen. 

1830 100  5 

184O I, OCX)  100 

1850 12,678  1,002 

i860 43,995  io,999 

1870 114,246  45,698 

1880 181,246  109,037 

1890 322,665  273,466 

1900 338,426  449,410 

1910 403,858  575,241 

1920 362,051  661,174 


3rd 

Gen. 


2 

64 

1,261 

9,503 

48,651 

167,912 

446,202 

989,711 


4th 
Gen. 


1 

(>73 

6,136 

36,250 

151,613 


5th 
Gen. 


6th 
Gen. 


17 

37o 

3,794 


Total 

105 

1,100 

14,582 

55,058 

161,206 

300,301 

645,455 

961,901 

1,561,921 

2,168,355 


I3t 

Generation 
362051 


2nd 
Generation 

661.174 


3rd 
Generation 

989.711 


4th 
Generation 

151,615 


5th 
Generation 

5,794 


6th 
Generation 

\Z 


Norwe§i&n:>  in  America,  1920,  By  Generations 

The  increase  of  the  white  population  in  the  United  States  has 
varied  from  35.8  per  cent  in  1790-1800  to  16.0  per  cent  in  1910- 
1920.  If  the  normal  increase  of  the  Norwegians  is  20.0  per  cent 
for  a  decade  or  2  per  cent  per  year,  then  in  the  years  1920-1925 
they  will  have  increased  10  per  cent,  or  216,835.  The  total  Nor- 
wegians in  1925  is  then  2,385,290.  This  makes  no  allowance  for 
intermixture  of  races.  Allowing  for  those  who  are  partly  Nor- 
wegian, the  total  will  far  exceed  the  2,500,000  mark. 

Ragnvald  J^nsberg,  chief  of  the  Statistical  Central  Bureau  of 
Norway,  has  published  a  similar  calculation,  which  the  writer 
did  not  come  across  until  he  had  made  his  own.  Jo'nsberg  allows 
for  onlv  five  generations  and  keeps  down  his  total  in  1920  to 
1,532,000—362.000  (1st),  597,000  (2nd),  450,000  (3rd),  120,000 
(4th),  30,000  (5th).  The  writer  has  found  25  Rosdails  belonging 
to  the  sixth  generation.  O.  E.  Rolvaag  made  a  canvass  of  the  St. 
Olaf  students  and  found  the  third  generation  largest,  in  harmony 
with  the  above  estimate. 


The  American  Period 


315 


4.    Norwegian  Settlements,   1890-1925 

In  this  third  period  there  have  been  several  movements  of  the 
Norwegians  into  the  western  counties  of  North  Dakota  and  South 
Dakota  and  the  northern  counties  of  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota; 
into  all  the  counties  of  Montana,  Idaho  and  Washington  and 
other  parts  of  the  Far  West;  clear  up  into  remotest  Alaska  and 
far  down  into  the  Sunny  South — Virginia,  Tennessee,  Alabama, 
Florida,  etc. ;  and,  last,  but  not  least,  into  Canada — Manitoba, 
Saskatchewan,  Alberta  and  British  Columbia. 

On  page  315  is  a  map  showing  where  the  Norwegians  lived  in 
1910,  in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  This  map  indicates  by  shad- 
ing the  density  of  the  larger  settlements.  The  heaviest  shading 
shows  the  greatest  Norwegian  population.   In  the  other  counties  the 


Norwegian  Land  in  Central  Alberta,  1904 


census  population  of  the  first  and  second  generations  are  given 
for  the  United  States,  and  for  Canada  the  census  population  of 
Norwegians  born  in  Norway  is  multiplied  by  four.  About  50  per 
cent  of  the  Norwegians  living  in  Canada  were  born  in  the  United 
States  and  are  therefore  not  listed  in  the  Canadian  census  as  Nor- 
wegians, but  as  Americans.  Foreign-born  Norwegians  plus  their 
children,  plus  the  Norwegians  counted  as  Americans,  make  a 
number  three  or  four  times  the  census  figures. 

The  map  shows  that  the  Norwegians  are  found  in  1949  out  of 
2938  counties  of  the  United  States  and  in  164  out  of  218  pro- 
vincial districts  of  Canada — in  66.3  per  cent  of  the  American  coun- 
ties, 75.2  per  cent  of  the  Canadian  districts.  In  the  most  north- 
eastern corner  of  Quebec — Rimouski  Provincial  District  (county) 
— they  located  four  foreign-born  Norwegians  in  1911.  In  the 
most  southeastern  corner  of  Florida — Dade  County — in   1910  10 


316 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


R.  Bogstad  (26) 


N.  J.  Hong  (25) 


Hans  Allen  (22) 


Norwegians  were  found.  Way  clown  in  San  Diego  County,  Cali- 
fornia, to  the  southwest,  the  census  reports  have  discovered  339 
Norwegians.  Far  up  to  the  northwest  in  the  remotest  regions  of 
British  Columbia  lies  Comox-Atlin  Provincial  District,  with  3,644 
Norwegians.  There  are  3,156  counties  and  districts  (counties)  in 
America.  Norwegians  of  the  first  generation  have  found  their 
way  into  2,113  of  them.    They  are  rovers  and  pioneers  as  of  old. 

A  census  of  the  Scandinavian  pioneers  of  Alberta  was  taken 
in  1904.  The  accompanying  map  of  the  land  holdings  by  Nor- 
wegians in  Central  Alberta  was  made  at  that  time.  The  pioneer 
days  of  Alberta  were  pioneer  days,  with  the  hardships  and  pri- 
vations incident  to  such  conditions.  Excepting  for  the  C.  P. 
(Canadian  Pacific  Railroad)  crossing  Lower  Alberta  and  sending 
a  sideline  up  to  Edmonton,  the  country  had  no  railroads.  Many 
of  the  farmers  had  100  to  150  miles  to  town.  There  were  few 
roads,  and  they  were  abominable.  Central  Alberta  was  full  of 
woods  and  swamps  and  lakes,  and  it  sometimes  took  a  whole  day 
to  cross  a  creek  with  a  wagon. 

A  man  had  been  to  Edmonton  to  get  a  load  of  provisions.  It 
took  two  weeks  to  go  to  town.    When  he  came  within   14  miles 


H.  S.  Houg  (21)  J.  P.  Fossum  (18)  Carl  Tyssen  (17) 

Academy  Principals,  with  Years  of  Service 


The  American  Period 


317 


O.  O.  L0kcnsgaard   (16)     A.  H.  Solheim    (14)         K.  O.  Eittreim   (14) 

of  his  home,  while  crossing  a  stream  his  wagon  tipped  over,  and 
his  flour,  sugar  and  other  supplies  were  gone  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye.  A  Galician  woman  chanced  to  be  there  when  he  was 
crossing.  She  stopped.  Out  there  one  could  travel  a  whole  day 
and  not  see  a  human  being,  therefore  any  kind  of  person,  Nor- 
wegian, Galician,  Indian  or  what-not,  was  a  precious  sight  to  be- 
hold. This  woman  understood  the  cost  and  sacrifice  represented 
by  the  overturned  load,  so  she  stripped  off  some  clothes  and  dived 
into  the  icy  waters  and  fetched  up  sack  after  sack  and  package 
upon  package.  The  Norwegian  said  "Thank  you"  and  "Mange 
tak,"  in  as  many  languages  and  gestures  as  he  could  invent,  and 
bade  goodbye  with  the  feeling  that  "these  foreigners"  are  not  all 
bad  anyhow. 

Out  there  in  the  wilderness  was  a  little  store  surrounded  by 
marsh  and  fen.  The  storekeeper  related  that  in  the  early  spring 
his  place  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  lake.  "Do  you  then  have 
any  trade  in  the  spring?"  "Certainly.  Why,  the  first  day  that  I 
discovered  that  I  had  located  in  a  lake,  two  women  came  to  my 
store  in  the  afternoon.  I  asked  them  if  they  had  a  boat.  They 
said  no.    I  asked  how  thev  had  come  across.    Thev  said  thev  had 


C.  B.  Helgen  (14)       A.  O.  B.  Molldrcm   (13)   H.   E.   Jorgensen    (12) 
Academy  Principals,  with   Years  of  Service 


318 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


H.  A.  Ustrud,  S.  Dak.     J.  G.  Halland,  N.  Dak.  C.  G.  Lawrence,  S.  Dak. 
State  Superintendents  of  Schools 

waded.  I  asked  how  they  escaped  getting  wet.  They  said:  'We 
carried  our  clothes  and  shoes  over  our  heads.'  ' 

Such  was  pioneer  life  in  1904.  And  these  pioneers  lived  in 
log  cabins  and  sod  cellars  as  their  fathers  had  done  in  South 
Dakota  and  their  grandfathers  in  Wisconsin.  Their  farm  tools 
were  not  quite  as  primitive.  Still,  some  of  the  settlers  were 
obliged  to  use  primitive  tools.  Hakon  C.  Norlie  made  his  own 
wagon  and  plow.  He  made  even  the  hinges  and  knobs  on  the 
door  of  his  house,  and  everything  that  he  made  was  very  well  done. 

The  horses  and  cattle  imported  from  the  States  died  of  swamp 
fever,  and  much  sickness  raged  among  the  settlers  too.  A  little 
girl  broke  her  arm  in  several  places.  It  happened  in  early  March 
when  the  country  resembled  a  vast  lake.  It  happened  on  a  cold, 
rainy  day.  Her  father  picked  her  up  and  carried  her  in  the  dead 
of  night  on  a  pony's  back  to  the  home  of  a  country  doctor  15 
miles  away.  He  was  happy  when  he  found  the  doctor  at  home. 
The  pioneer  doctor,  like  the  pioneer  pastor  and  store  keeper,  has 
gladdened  many  a  soul. 

The  Norwegian  people  in  Alberta  felt  keenly  the  loss  of  their 
wonted  church  services.   They  began  to  organize  Sunday  Schools, 


J.  A.  Widtsoe,  Ph.D..  LL.D.Aven   Nelson,    Ph.D. 
Pres.,   U.   of   Utah  Pres.,  U.  of  Wyo. 


Edward  Olsen,  Ph.D. 
Pres.,  U.  of  S.  Dak. 


The  American  Period 


319 


Gertrude  M.  Hilleboe,  Elsa  Ueland  Beatrice  Olson,  A.  M. 

A.    M.  Pres.,  Carson  College        Dean  U.  of  N.  Dak. 

Dean,  St.  Olaf  College 

ladies'  aids  and  congregations.  They  made  use  of  their  best  lay 
preachers  to  expound  the  Word  unto  them  and  sent  for  regularly 
ordained  pastors  to  come  over  and  help  them.  As  soon  as  they 
could — scarcely  ten  years  after  they  had  begun  to  settle  in  Alberta 
— ,  they  founded  a  college  in  their  midst — Camrose  College — 
at  Camrose,  now  a  thriving  town  of  1,892  people.  In  1904  there 
was  no  town  there  at  all. 

Many  of  the  Norwegian  names  end  in  "son" — "Anderson," 
"Johnson,"  etc.  These  are  good  names,  but  the  Alberta  land  of- 
ficials found  trouble  in  keeping  track  of  the  many  "sons."  So 
they  recommended  that  the  names  in  "son"  be  changed — not  to 
Smith  and  Jones,  but  to  Norwegian  place  names — Groven,  Ekland, 
Ostrom,  Kjo'sness,  Bjerke,  Levang,  etc.  Near  Camrose  lived  a 
Norwegian.  Before  going  over  to  this  man's  farm,  the  census 
enumerator  asked  about  him,  his  name,  and  the  like.  "Well,  his 
name  had  been  So'renson,"  said  the  informant,  "but  he  has  fol- 
lowed the  custom  here  of  changing  it."  "And  what  is  his  name 
now?"    "His  name  now?    It  is  Olson,"  was  the  reply. 


J.  O.  Evjen,   Ph.   D.      V.  O.   Skyberg,  A.   M 
Pres.,  Mayville  Normal        Gallaudet  College 


C.  C.  Swain,  Ph.  D. 
Pres.,  Mayville  Normal 


320  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Manitoba  is  the  most  easterly  of  the  prairie  provinces  of 
Canada  and  the  first  to  be  rated  as  a  province.  It  is  iii  area  four 
times  as  large  as  Iowa,  having  231,926  square 
Manitoba  miles  of  land  and  19,906  square  miles  of  water 

surface.  It  is  twice  the  size  of  the  British 
Isles.  It  became  a  province  in  1870.  It  is  typically  an  agricultural 
country,  especially  on  the  southern  plains.  Lake  Winnipeg  is 
situated  in  the  heart  of  the  province  and  abounds  in  fish.  East 
and  north  of  this  lake  the  country  is  rough  and  covered  with 
woods.  Copper  mining  and  lumbering  are  as  yet  infant  industries 
which  are  bound  to  grow  to  lusty  manhood.  Winnipeg,  the  capital, 
had  a  population  of  241,  in  1871 ;  7,985,  in  1881 ;  25,639  in  1891 ; 
42,340,  in  1901;  136,035,  in  1911;  and  179,087,  in  1921.  It  is 
the  third  largest  city  in  the  Dominion,  being  surpassed  only  by- 
Montreal  and  Toronto. 

The  provincial  government  of  Manitoba  resembles  that  of 
Saskatchewan  and  Alberta.  There  is  a  lieutenant  governor,  ap- 
pointed by  the  government  at  Ottawa.  He  holds  office  five  years. 
He  is  assisted  by  a  cabinet,  consisting  of  a  minister  of  public 
works,  an  attorney  general,  a  minister  of  agriculture,  a  provincial 
treasurer  and  a  provincial  secretary..  In  local  matters  there  is 
much  self-government,  as  in  the  United  States,  but  the  laws  are 
more  strictly  obeyed  and  enforced.  Laws  in  Canada  seem  to  be 
meant  to  be  observed. 

The  Norwegians  are  said  to  have  made  their  first  settlement 
in  Manitoba  in  1887.  at  Brown,  near  the  Dakota  line.  B.  O.  Holo, 
of  Sogn.  came  to  Brown  from  Pembina  County,  North  Dakota. 
Holo  was  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War  and  well  acquainted  with 
pioneer  hardships.  Jacob  Spangelo,  Nils  O.  Vigen,  Ole  B.  Nelson, 
Knud  Halvorsen,  Gisle  K.  Gundersen,  Halvor  Halvorsen.  Thore 
Halvorsen,  and  Lars  H.  Lien  are  other  first  settlers  mentioned 
by  Martin  Ulvestad  in  his  great  work  "Nordmsendene  i  Amerika" 
(The  Norwegians  in  America).  These  first  settlers  established  a 
post  office  called  Nummedal,  in  honor  of  the  district  in  Norway 
from  which  most  of  them  hailed. 

The  Norwegian  foreign-born  population  of  the  provincial 
districts  of  Manitoba  for  1911  and  1921  was  as  follows: 

District  191 1         1921  Dirtrict  191  ]  1921 

Brandon    33  114  Winnipeg  Centre    .       405  489 

Dauphin     144  159  Winnipeg    North     .        ...  183 

Lisgar    49  221  Winnipeg  South    ...        ...  246 

MacDonald     273  132  Xeepawa 84 

Marquette    150  517  Xelson ...            165 

Portage  la  Prairie.  19  197  Springfield 239 

Provencher     118  452                                                    — — 

Selkirk     203  905                                                    1434  4203 

Souris    40  100 


The  American  Period 


321 


Camrose  College 


J.  J.  Akre  Martha   0stens0  Henrik  Voldal 

Pres.  Norw.  Luth.  Winnipeg  Founder  of  Det  Norske 

Church,  Canada         Winner  of  $13,500.00  Selskab  and  For 

Literary  Prize  Faedrearven 


Outlook  College 


322  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Manitoba  has  been  the  favorite  province  of  the  Icelanders. 
Vilhjalmur  Stefansson,  the  artic  explorer,  recently  voted  the  most 
distinguished  alumnus  of  the  University  of  North  Dakota,  was 
born  in  the  Icelandic  settlement  of  Arnes  in  Manitoba.  Martha 
0stens0\  the  Norwegian  girl  who  in  1924  won  the  $13,500.00 
"Pictorial  Review"  Prize  for  the  best  novel  (the  Curtis  Brown 
Prize),  was  born  in  Bergen,  Norway,  but  had  her  training  at 
the  University  of  Manitoba.  There  were  1,500  contestants  for  the 
prize,  but  she  won  out.  Her  plot  is  taken  from  a  little  Icelandic 
settlement  in  Manitoba.  Her  story,  "Wild  Geese,"  will  be  filmed. 

Icelandic  immigration  to  America  began  in  1870.  The  first 
company  settled  in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  Rev.  Jon  Bjarnason, 
D.D.,  an  Icelander,  educated  in  Iceland,  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1873,  was  engaged  as  a  professor  at  Luther  College  1874-1875, 
was  editor  of  "Budstikken,"  Minneapolis,  1875-1877,  and  then 
he  moved  to  Ny  Island,  a  little  settlement  of  Icelanders  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Winnipeg.  Rev.  Paul  Thorlaksson  of  the  Nor- 
wegian Synod  organized  the  Vidalius,  Flotsbygd,  Gudbrands, 
Hallgrims  and  Winnipeg  congregations  in  1876.  T.  K.  Thorvil- 
son,  J.  P.  0ien,  T.  Castberg,  A.  H.  Bergford,  Otto  Lock,  S.  G. 
Nelson,  A.  O.  B.  Molldrem,  L.  M.  Skunes,  R.  Bogstad,  J.  K. 
Lerohl,  O.  H.  Haugen,  G.  A.  Sovde,  Olof  Olson,  A.  O.  Breivik, 
S.  O.  Vangstad,  H.  H.  Hagen,  J.  J.  Akre,  are  some  of  the  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  pastors  who  have  brought  the  Good  News  to  the 
Norwegians  of  Manitoba.  29  Norwegian  congregations  have  been 
established.  Rev.  R.  O.  Sigmond  is  a  Norwegian  pastor,  formerly 
of  Staten  Island,  N.  Y.,  now  on  the  faculty  of  Jon  Bjarnason 
Academy,  Winnipeg. 

Saskatchewan  is  a  province  situated  right  west  of  Manitoba, 
and  of  nearly  the  same  size — 242,808  square  miles  of  land  and 
8,892  of  water.  It  became  a  province  in  1905. 
Saskatchewan  The   country   consists    for   the    most   part   of 

open  rolling  prairie  at  an  average  altitude 
of  1,500  feet  above  sea  level,  while  in  the  north  it  assumes  a  more 
broken  aspect,  and  is  abundantly  watered  by  lakes  and  rivers  and 
rich  in  coal  and  timber  resources.  The  south  is  almost  treeless. 
Saskatchewan  is  the  greatest  wheat  producing  state  in  America. 
In  1921  it  had  over  12,000,000  acres  sown  to  wheat,  one-sixth 
as  great  an  acreage  as  the  total  wheat  fields  of  the  United  States, 
and  its  wheat  yield  is  18%  of  the  total  of  that  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  better  quality,  No.  1  hard.  Norwegian  farmers  are 
scattered  all  over  the  Saskatchewan  plains  and  take  the  lead  in 
wheat  raising. 

The  total  number  of  Norwegians  in  Saskatchewan  in  1911  was 
7,625  born  in  Norway;  in  1921  it  was  31,438.  It  would  have  been 
larger  but  for  the  World  War,  in  which  Canada  made  such  heroic 


The  American  Period 


323 


sacrifices.  Saskatchewan  is  the  most  Norwegian  of  the  Canadian 
provinces.  If  we  count  all  the  Norwegians  from  the  States  as 
well  as  from  Norway,  and  of  all  generations,  then  Saskatchewan 
in  1921  must  have  had  from  100,000  to  125,000  of  them.  The 
first  Norwegian  settlement,  according  to  Ulvestad,  was  Glen  Mary, 
about  40  miles  from  Prince  Albert.  It  was  made  by  Christian  and 
Ole  Bjzfe,  from  SoloY,  Norway.  Carl  C.  Larsen,  from  Ho'nefos, 
Tollef  Knp'ntvedt,  from  Nummedal,  and  Carl  Hovdeby,  from 
Kongsberg,  Norway,  joined  this  first  colony;  also  others.  In  1903 
Rev.  H.  C.  Holm,  of  the  United  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church, 
then  mission  superintendent,  organized  at  Norden  a  congregation, 
and  S.  H.  Njaa  became  the  first  pastor,  1903-1908,  followed  by 
H.  O.  Gro'nlid,   1908-1914,  and  T.  Thompson,    1914.    Christian 


N.  A.  Grevstad 

Ex-Minister  to  Uruguay 

and  Paraguay 


L.  S.  Reque 

Consul  General  to 

Rotterdam 


Roald  Amundsen 
Discoverer  of  Northwest 
Passaee  and  South  Pole 


Bo'e,  Ole  Orvedal,  Carl  Larsen,  Jo'rgen  Svenkesen,  M.  Jacobsen, 
Iver  Nelson,  Carl  Thompson,  M.  Breimon,  J.  Petersen,  Iver  Nes- 
heim,  Hans  Thompson,  O.  Hamre  were  among  the  first  officers  of 
the  congregation.  In  1903  they  paid  a  salary  of  $30.00  per  year, 
in  1914  they  had  raised  it  to  $75.00.  Their  first  church  cost 
$1,200.00.  The  oldest  congregation  in  the  province  is  the  Sas- 
katchewan First  Norwegian  Lutheran  Congregation,  situated  10 
miles  southwest  of  Langham,  Eagle  Creek,  P.  D.,  organized  in 
September,  1903.  H.  Jensson  was  the  first  pastor,  followed  by 
O.  J.  Hungness,  K.  O.  Eliassen,  O.  J.  J.  Tollerud,  and  others. 
The  pastor  at  Shell  Brook  and  Prince  Albert,  1910-1913,  and 

at  Mistawasis,   1913 ,  is  Sigfried  Wessel,  born  and  bred  in 

the  glamor  of  Oslo,  capital  city  of  Norway,  an  officer  in  the  Nor- 
wegian Army,  an  excellent  pianist  and  a  composer  of  piano  music, 
yet  freely  and  faithfully  sharing  the  trials  of  the  prairie  pioneers. 
It  is  said  of  his  young  bride  that  when  she  stepped  across  the 
threshold  of  his  shanty  she  could  not  hold  back  her  tears.  The 
change  was  so  great — from  the  cultured  homes  of  Oslo  to  a 
miserable  shack  in  the  wilderness  of  Saskatchewan. 


324 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Gltn. 


Dir.J 
• 
EdgtrteA 


at  cox 
fttD  DkZK 


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■4— 

VI 


Norwegian  Lutheran  Congregations  in  Alberta,   1915 


The  Norwegian  Lutherans  in  the  period  1903-1916  established 
224  congregations  and  98  preaching  stations  in  Saskatchewan,  the 
work  of  the  home  missions.  Many  faithful  men  of  the  type  of 
Wessel,  Njaa  and  the  other  pastors  alluded  to  above,  have  along- 
side of  their  farmer  friends  up  there  been  "sowing  in  the  morn- 
ing, sowing  seeds  of  kindness,  sowing  in  the  noontide,  and  the 
dewy  eve."  The  Norwegian  Lutherans  erected  Outlook  College  in 
1916.  Hjalmar  O.  Gr^nlid,  A.B.,  C.T.,  was  the  first  president. 
He  joined  the  colors  during  the  War,  serving  as  chaplain  with 
the  rank  of  captain.  He  is  now  located  at  Trinity  Church,  Brook- 
lyn, N,  Y.  as  Rev.  Sven  O.  Sigmond's  first  assistant. 


The  American  Period  325 

Alberta  is  a  trifle  larger  than  its  sister  to  the  east,  Saskatche- 
wan.   It  has  252,925  square  miles  of  land  and  2,360  of  water.    It 
is  larger  than  Germany  and  Bulgaria  together. 
Alberta  Formerly  almost  exclusively  a  ranching  coun- 

try, it  has  now  become  a  great  grain,  lumber 
and  coal  producing  region.  It  yields  enormous  crops  of  wheat, 
oats,  barley,  rye,  flax  and  potatoes.  The  southern  part  is  an  open 
prairie,  suitable  for  winter  and  summer  grazing  and  all  sorts  of 
grain  farming.  The  middle  and  northern  portions  are  covered 
with  a  belt  of  forests,  with  open  patches  here  and  there.  The 
south  is  dry,  has  little  rain  and  few  streams.  The  middle  and 
northern  sections  have  more  rain  and  many  streams  and  lakes. 
The  climate  loses  some  of  its  severity  by  the  presence  of  the  warm 
Chinook  winds  from  the  west.  The  Rockies  on  the  western  border 
rise  to  a  height  of  over  15,000  feet.  Coal  beds  crop  out  of  the 
hills;  coal  mines  can  be  unearthed  by  digging  a  cellar.  Alberta 
is  said  to  possess  a  trillion  tons  of  coal,  87  per  cent  of  the  coal 
fields  of  Canada.  It  has  also  gold  and  gas  in  great  storer  Here, 
too,  the  Norseman  has  built  himself  a  kingdom. 

Calgary  was  the  first  district  in  Alberta  to  receive  Norwegian 
settlers.  Bernt  Thorp,  Conrad  Anderson  and  a  dozen  other  men 
from  Oslo,  Fredrikstad  and  Farsund,  Norway,  came  to  Calgary 
in  1880  and  made  their  home  among  the  Indians  and  Canadian 
halfbreeds.  New  Norway  was  organized  in  1893  in  central  Alberta 
by  Even  O.  Olstad  of  Hedemarken,  Gulik  Iverson  of  Nummedal, 
and  Peder  O.  Haukedal  of  Ringerike,  Norway.  New  Norway 
was  soon  reinforced  by  settlers  from  the  States,  especially  South 
Dakota,  and  it  became  a  prosperous  community.  It  is  very  beauti- 
fully located.  Seminarist  Peder  O.  Olufson,  schoolmaster  from 
Bangor,  South  Dakota,  was  the  first  parochial  teacher  at  New 
Norway,  and,  if  he  is  not  dead,  he  no  doubt  still  plies  his  beloved 
profession.  H.  C.  Wik  (1901-1902),  C.  M.  N^dtvedt  (1903- 
1907)  were  the  first  pastors  in  New  Norway. 

Not  far  from  New  Norway  Jacob  M.  Stole  settled  down,  com- 
ing up  from  North  Dakota.  One  of  his  sons  is  Dr.  Michael  J. 
Stolee,  formerly  missionary  at  Ft.  Dauphin,  Madagascar,  and  now 
professor  of  missions  at  Luther  Theological  Seminary.  Another 
son  of  Jacob  Stole  is  Rev.  Haakon  J.  Stolee,  superintendent  of 
Coeur  d'Alene  Old  People's  Home,  Idaho.  Rev.  Hans  Mosby, 
of  Torquay,  Saskatchewan,  is  also  from  this  vicinity. 

A  few  miles  to  the  north  of  New  Norway  lies  Bardo,  or 
Northern,  on  beautiful  Beaver  Lake.  This  place  was  founded  in 
1894  by  men  from  Bardo,  Nordland,  Norway.  The  first  settlers 
included  P.  B.  Anderson,  son  of  the  pioneer  Hauge  missionary, 
Rev.  Bersvend  Anderson,  who  was  the  first  Hauge  pastor  in  the 
Red  River  Valley  (1878-1894),  and  the  first  Lutheran  pastor  in 


326 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Alberta  (1894-1918),  a  man  whose  whole  life  as  a  sailor,  farmer 
and  pastor  was  spent  in  doing  good  to  others.  He  came  to  Bardo 
in  1894  and  organized  the  Bardo  Congregation  in  1895.  In  1897 
the  congregation  had  67  members.  A  son  of  the  congregation  is 
the  Rev.  Albert  Anderson,  Fancheng,  Honan,  China.  In  1916 
Alberta  had  159  Norwegian  Lutheran  congregations  and  20 
preaching  places  extra.  It  had  a  college  at  Camrose  and  an  old 
people's  home  at  Bawlf .  Rev.  N.  R.  T.  Braa  is  the  superintendent 
of  the  home.  Rev.  A.  H.  Solheim  is  president  of  the  college.  A 
bi-lingual  church  paper,  Hyrden  (The  Shepherd),  is  edited  by 
Rev.  Knute  O.  L^kensgaard,  of  Edberg,  Alberta. 


Norwegian  Lutheran  Deaconess  Home,  Chicago,  111. 


British  Columbia  lies  in  the  far  west  on  the  coast  and  border- 
ing Alaska.   It  is,  next  to  the  province  of  Quebec  in  the  far  east, 

the  largest  of  the  Canadian  provinces.  It  has 
British  Columbia        353,416' square  miles  of  land  area  and  2,410 

square  miles  of  lakes.  It  is  as  large  as  the 
United  Kingdom,  Norway  and  Italy  together.  The  many  islands 
along  the  Pacific  coast,  notably  Vancouver  Island  with  an  area 
of  13,500  square  miles,  belong  to  the  province  and  are  remark- 
able for  their  temperate  climate  and  abundant  natural  resources. 
In  some  respects  British  Columbia  is  the  most  favored  part  of 
Canada.  Within  its  boundaries  are  reproduced  almost  all  the 
varied  climates  of  the  Dominion  and  almost  every  natural  feature 


The  American  Period 


327 


and  resource.  The  mineral  and  lumber  wealth  of  British  Columbia 
is  simply  fabulous;  the  fishing  and  agriculture  possibilities  are 
stupendous.  The  mountain  scenery  is  the  wildest  and  vastest  in 
North  America.  Mt.  Fairweather  is  15,287  feet.  British  Columbia 
became  a  province  in  1866. 

Says  the  chronicler  Martin  Ulvestad:  "The  first  Norwegian 
to  become  a  permanent  resident  of  British  Columbia,  as  far  as 
we  know,  is  the  Hon.  Hans  Helgeson,  who  has  lived  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Victoria  since  1860.  He  is  a  well  known  and  influential 
man,  a  fact  that  is  proved  also  by  the  circumstance  that  he  has 


Br1 

1  IB   " 

r  I 
r 

n^&&, 

1        */ 

1 1 1 

iliiil 

HE5E 

-      ~**"»~    *  .,  „":i             '■    -              ^     -"Tx|  .      - 

5'M. 

Ml -Ml, 

m 

iSSilfeijiiSte^i^M 

HHnabk.  Munua 

L-_i/-«s 

3aJ^r«^j^"^|"r||J^^  gUFff*"**^" ' 

Norwegian  Lutheran  Deaconess  Home,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 


been  a  member  of  the  British  Columbia  Legislature."  The  first 
Norwegian  settlement,  near  Matsqui  and  Aldersgrove,  New  Min- 
ster, was  organized  in  1884,  by  John  L.  Broe,  from  Fayette 
County,  Iowa.  He  was  soon  joined  by  John  L.  Wilson,  a  Stav- 
anger  man,  and  others. 

The  Census  for  1911  reported  3,732  Norwegians  born  in 
Norway  located  within  British  Columbia;  in  1921  there  were 
6,570— -4,084  men,  2,486  women,  pretty  evenly  divided  through- 
out the  13  provincial  districts  of  the  province.  The  actual  Nor- 
wegian population  is  three  or  four  times  as  large  as  the  number 
born  in  Norway.  In  1916  there  were  20  Norwegian  Lutheran 
congregations  in  the  province,  all  located  in  Vancouver  and  West- 


328  Norwegian  People  in  America 

minster  districts  near  the  Washington  boundary.    There  the  Nor- 
wegians have  lived  longest  and  closest  together. 

The  chief  settlements  are  in  Vancouver  and  New  Westminster 
provinces,  where  some  15  congregations  had  been  organized  be- 
tween 1890  and  1916.  The  Norwegian  Synod  had  7  congrega- 
tions; the  United  Church  had  also  7;  the  Lutheran  Free  Church 
had  2.  There  was  a  Free  Church  congregation  at  Hagensborg, 
Comox  Atlin,  a  United  Church  congregation  at  Waldo,  Kotenay, 
and  a  Hauge  Synod  congregation  at  Pauce  Coupe  in  the  Peace 
River  country  of  Yale-Cariboo.  Rev.  H.  N.  Running,  brother  of 
Editor  N.  N.  Running,  of  Minneapolis,  and  formerly  a  missionary 
in  Central  China,  was  the  pastor  at  Peace  River  from  1908  to 
1917.  Among  the  pastors  who  have  worked  in  British  Columbia 
are:  G.  M.  Aasheim,  A.  O.  Bjerke,  O.  Borge,  K.  O.  Eliassen, 
E.  A.  Ericksen,  O.  J.  Eriksen,  C.  Forthun,  L.  C.  Foss,  E.  A.  Hage, 
O.  Hagoes,  G.  N.  Isolany,  E.  O.  Lane,  C.  J.  Olsen,  O.  J.  Ordal, 
A.  C.  Quale,  P.  O.  Qualen,  H.  O.  Sageng,  B.  O.  Sand,  C.  T. 
Saugstad,  W.  N.  Sjovangen,  M.  Skonhovd,  M.  C.  Stensen,  H.  O. 
Thormodsgaard,  S.  R.  Tollefsen. 

A  word  should  be  said  about  the  extension  of  the  Norwegian 
settlements  to  Alaska,  farthest  northwest.    The  Norwegians  are 

scattered  over  Alaska  from  Petersburg  to 
Alaska  Nome.    The   city   of    Petersburg   was   named 

after  a  Norwegian,  Peter  Thams  Buschmann, 
who  in  1891  with  wife  and  nine  children  left  Norway  and  settled 
in  Tacoma,  Washington.  He  put  in  the  first  salmon  trap  at 
Lummi  Island,  Puget  Sound,  in  1892,  a  location  that  soon  sold 
for  $90,000.00.  In  1894  he  moved  to  Alaska,  as  he  figured  that 
Alaska  was  the  future  fishing  country.  And  his  judgment  was 
correct.  Alaska's  fisheries  in  1923  yielded  over  one-half  as  much 
as  the  48  states  of  the  Union  together — $38,678,825.00  for  Alaska 
and  $76,326,000.00  for  the  United  States  excluding  Alaska. 
Buschmann  started  a  cannery,  and  later  on  more  canneries.  On 
his  homestead  a  town  grew  up,  named  Petersburg  in  his  honor. 
It  is  a  Norwegian  town.  Nome,  too,  is  quite  a  Norwegian  town. 
One  of  its  leading  citizens  is  Judge  G.  J.  Lomen,  a  Decorah  boy, 
formerly  an  attorney  in  Minneapolis,  since  1900  a  resident  of 
Alaska.  He  is  one  of  the  great  promoters  of  the  reindeer  industry, 
which  supplies  the  American  markets  with  venison.  He  controls 
a  herd  of  30,000  animals.  The  Alaskan  reindeer  were  imported 
from  Norway  through  the  kindly  offices  of  Hon.  R.  B.  Anderson, 
United  States  minister  to  Denmark,  1884-1888. 

The  Dane,  Vitus  Bering,  explored  Alaska  for  Russia  in  1741. 
Siberian  fur-hunters  exploited  the  land  for  nearly  a  century,  killing 
off  the  Eskimo  natives  as  well  as  the  polar  bears.  Russian  mis- 
sionaries began  to  work  among  the  natives  in  1818.    In  1867  the 


The  American  Period  329 

United  States  purchased  the  land  for  $7,200,000.00,  or  less  than 
one-half  cent  per  acre.  The  area  is  531,000  square  miles.  It  is 
over  twice  the  size  of  Texas,  nearly  ten  times  the  area  of  Iowa. 
In  1920  the  population  was  55,036 — 27,883  whites,  26,558  Indians 
(Eskimos)  and  595  of  other  races.  There  are  11,597  foreign-born 
whites  in  Alaska.  2,169  of  these  were  born  in  Norway,  1,687  in 
Sweden,  and  371  in  Denmark,  that  is,  37.6  per  cent  of  the  foreign- 
born  whites  were  born  in  Scandinavia.  Many  of  the  Scandinavians 
in  Alaska  were  born  in  Canada  and  the  United  States,  so  that  over 
50  per  cent  of  the  whites  are  Scandinavians.  About  25  per  cent 
of  the  whites  in  Alaska  are  of  Norwegian  blood. 

The  United  States  Government  asked  the  Norwegian  Synod  in 
1893  for  a  competent  teacher  at  the  Government  School  at  Port 
Clarence,  Alaska.  Rev.  T.  L.  Brevig  was  sent.  He  occupied  this 
post  four  years  and  preached  the  Gospel  to  his  countrymen,  be- 
sides the  Lapps  and  Eskimos  on  the  side.  He  returned  to  the 
States  and  prevailed  on  the  Synod  to  start  a  mission  among  the 
Eskimos  at  Teller  and  neighboring  points — Agiopak,  Mary's  Igloo, 
Council,  Nook,  Cape  Wolly,  Grantly  Harbor.  An  orphanage  was 
built  at  Teller — the  Mrs.  T.  L.  Brevig  Eskimo  Orphanage,  which 
now  harbors  35  Eskimo  orphans.  Schools  were  set  in  operation, 
running  eight  months  a  year.  The  sick  were  cared  for.  In  1908 
D.  R.  T^rnoe  relieved  him;  in  1910  H.  M.  Tjernagel  took 
ToYnoe's  place.  In  1913  Brevig  returned  to  the  task.  In  1917 
Olaf  Fosso  was  sent  to  Teller  and  C.  K.  Malmin  to  Igloo.  Fosso 
returned  to  Minnesota  in  1920  and  Malmin  in  1921.  Elmer  H. 
Dahle  went  into  the  breaches  from  1921  to  1924.  There  have  been 
a  number  of  women  assistants,  as:  Sisters  Agnes  Nostdahl  (Mrs. 
John  Reed)  and  Sister  Anna  Huseth,  Miss  J.  Enestvedt  and 
Mrs.  T.  L.  Brevig.  Leonard  Soologuak,  an  Eskimo,  attended  Red 
Wing  Seminary  two  years  to  prepare  himself  for  work  among 
his  people. 

Finally,  a  word  should  be  said  about  the  extension  of  the  Nor- 
wegian settlements  to  Florida,  farthest  southeast.    Florida  was  the 
first  region  of  North  America  to  be  colonized 
Florida  by   Europeans  and   is   one  of   the   last   to   be 

colonized  by  Norwegians.  Like  Maine  in  the 
northeast,  Florida  has  a  post  office  called  Norway  (Gadsden 
County),  but  no  Norwegian  lives  there.  Ponce  de  Leon  landed 
in  Florida  in  1513  in  search  of  the  water  of  life.  In  1565 
Menendez  massacred  the  French  colony  at  Ft.  Caroline,  leaving 
the  grim  inscription  on  their  hanging  bodies :  "Not  as  to  French- 
men, but  as  to  Lutherans."  In  1568  De  Gourgues's  expedition 
captured  the  Spanish  fort  on  the  St.  John's  and  hanged  the  garri- 
son: "Not  as  to  Spaniards,  but  as  to  traitors,  thieves  and  mur- 
derers."   In  1819  Florida  was  obtained  by  the  United  States.    It 


330 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


{Copyright,    Edmonston)  genator    ]y[_    Jj     Johnson  {Copyright,    Edmonston) 

Senator  Reed  Smoot  Senator  Asle  J.  Gr0nna 

became  a  territory  in  1821 ;  a  state,  in  1845.  It  is  a  land  of  lum- 
bering and  fishing,  cotton  and  corn,  tobacco,  rice,  sugar  cane, 
oranges,  bananas,  lemons  and  limes,  grapes  and  grape  fruit. 
Palm  Beach  is  the  Nation's  most  exclusive  winter  resort. 

There  have  been  foreign-born  Norwegians  in  Florida  at  every 
census— 17  in  1850;  11  in  1860;  16  in  1870;  79  in  1880;  179  in 
1890;  235  in  1900;  304  in  1910;  610  in  1920.  The  favorite  haunts 
of  Norwegians  in  Florida  are:  Pensacola,  with  129  foreign-born 
in  1920;  Jacksonville,  with  48;  Miami,  with  38;  Tampa,  with  31; 
Palm  Beach  had  31  and  Dade  County  had  59.  In  St.  Lucie  County 
Norwegian  congregations  were  organized  at  Oslo  and  Viking  in 
1914.  H.  O.  Helseth  and  A.  L.  Stowell  of  the  Lutheran  Free 
Church  have  been  the  pastors.  The  Norway  Seamen's  Mission 
keeps  a  pastor  at  Pensacola. 

Floridans  have  made  several  attempts  to  induce  Norwegians 
to  settle  down  there.  A  typical  example  is  that  of  the  Kissimmee 
project  of  1893-1895.  The  Henry  Disston  Saw  Company,  Phila- 
delphia, owned  large  tracts  of  land  in  Central  Florida,  which  they 
wanted   disposed   of   to  the  mutual   advantage   of   good   settlers 


(Copyright,   Harris    &   Ewing)  {Copyright,    G.    J.    Rogers)  Nils    P.    Hailgen 

Senator  H.  O.  Bursum    Senator    H.    Shipstead  Congressman 


The  American  Period 


661 


Kittel   Halvorson 


Haldor  E.  Boen 


Herman  B.  Dahle 


and  themselves.  They  erected  sugar  mills  and  other  conveniences 
for  the  settlers.  They  sent  Norwegian  agents  out  to  paint  the 
glories  of  the  Florida  climate  and  resources  to  the  Norwegian 
farmers  of  South  Dakota  suffering,  as  they  were,  from  winter 
blizzards  and  summer  droughts.  In  the  year  1893  there  was  a 
great  exodus  of  farmers  from  Dakota  to  Kissimmee  and  Narcoos- 
see,  Osceola  County.  Among  these  settlers  were  John  and  Perry 
Juel,  brothers;  Ole  H.  and  Hakon  C.  Norlie,  father  and  son; 
M.  J.  Aus  and  Shulson,  brothers-in-law ;  Rev.  Ole  E.  Hof- 
stad  and  many  others.  They  settled  to  the  south  of  Lake 
Tohopekaliga  at  Narcoossee.  They  built  themselves  bungalows 
and  planted  orange  groves.  They  enjoyed  the  climate  and  urged 
all  their  friends  to  leave  the  North  and  come  to  beautiful  Florida, 
each  man  to  live  under  his  own  fig  tree  and  date  palm.  Here 
grew  the  best  oranges  in  the  world,  50  varieties.  Everything  was 
lovely — until  the  frost  came  and  killed  their  orange  crop.  They 
had  no  immediate  prospects  as  farmers.  Wages  was  only  50  cents 
per  day.  Times  were  hard.  They  were  in  the  midst  of  the  Cleve- 
land Panic.    They  asked  their  friends  in  Dakota  to  send  them 


(Copyright,    Harris    &   Ewing) 

Halvor  Steenerson 


(Copyright) 

Gilbert  N.  Haugen 

Congressmen   of  Norwegian  Descent 


(Copyright,    Harris    &   Ewing) 

A.   J.   Volstead 


332 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


John  M.  Nelson 


Sydney  Anderson 


Henry   T.   Helgesen 


money  to  keep  them  alive  and  to  enable  them  to  come  back.  So 
they  all  came  back,  after  a  two  years'  sojourn  in  the  land  of 
"cotton  and  cohn."  Sometimes  now  they  long  for  the  magnolia 
blossoms  and  the  live  oaks,  the  razor  back  hogs  and  the  drowsy 
alligators,  the  friendly  southern  neighbors  and  the  happy  darkies, 
and  they  sing : 

I  wish  I  was  in  de  land  ob  cotton, 
Old  times  dar  am  not  forgotten. 

Or,  still  better : 

Way  down  upon   de  Suwanee   Ribber, 
Far,   far  away. 

Visiting  Narcoossee  in  1921,  the  writer  asked  a  storekeeper 
what  he  thought  of  the  South  Dakota  settlers.  "Those  foreigners 
were  fine,"  he  replied.  "Why  call  them  foreigners  ?"  "They  spoke 
a  foreign  language."  "Why  call  them  fine?"  "They  paid  their 
debts."  "Why  do  you  suppose  they  did  that  ?"  "They  were  brought 
up  that  way."  Floridans  still  welcome  Norwegians  to  settle  in 
their  midst.    The  Norwegians  are  considered  first  class  settlers. 


{Copyright,    Harris    &    Ewing)  (Copyright,    Clinedinst) 

Chester  B.  Van  Dyke  Harold  Knutson  C.  A.  Christopherson 

Congressmen   of  Norwegian   Descent 


The  American  Period 


333 


{Copyright,   Hoff) 

Alger  B.  Burtness 


M.  A.  Michaelson 


(Copyright,    Harris    &    Ewing) 

William  Williamson 


5.  Steamship  Lines 
Robert  Fulton  was  ahead  of  his  time  when  he  made  his  ex- 
periment on  the  Hudson  with  his  steamboat,  the  Clermont.  The 
usefulness  of  the  invention  was  not  appreciated.  Still,  he  slowly 
convinced  the  skeptical  world  that  it  was  possible  to  apply  steam 
power  to  transportation  by  water.  One  of  the  first  shipping  men 
to  realize  the  practical  advantages  of  steamboats  over  sailing 
ships  was  Samuel  Cunard,  a  Halifax  ship  owner.  In  1838  Cun- 
ard  sailed  for  England  to  raise  the  necessary  capital  for  starting 
a  steamship  company.  In  1840  he  launched  the  Britannia,  which 
was  207  feet  long  and  registered  1,154  tons.  The  first  trip  of  his 
boat  was  begun  on  July  4,  1840.  The  event  assumed  interna- 
tional importance.  When  the  boat  anchored  at  Boston,  Cunard 
was  the  embarrassed  recipient  of  no  fewer  than  1873  dinner  in- 
vitations during  his  first  twenty-four  hours'  sojourn  in  that  place. 
He  had  a  good  deal  of  powerful  opposition,  especially  from  the 
competing  Collins  Line.  Still  he  went  on  with  his  program,  and 
the  Cunard  Line  has  grown  to  become  one  of  the  greatest  in  the 
world.     The   largest   Cunarder   in  commission   in   1880  was   the 


(Copyright,     Edmonston)  Klllld    Wcfald 

O.  J.  Kvale 

Congressmen  of  Norwegian  Descent 


August  H.  Andresen 


334 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Gallia,  of  4,880  tons,  four  times  the  tonnage  of  the  Britannia. 
The  Saxonia  in  1900  displaced  14,027  tons,  12  times  as  much  as 
Britannia.  The  Berengaria  in  1920  had  a  tonnage  of  52,000,  forty- 
five  times  the  size  of  the  Britannia.  Among  the  well  known  vessels 
of  this  line  are  the  Aquitania,  901  feet  long,  97  feet  wide,  and  60,- 
000  horsepower ;  the  Mauretania,  790  feet  long,  88  feet  wide,  and 
67,000  horsepower.  The  Cunard  Line  has  swallowed  up  minor 
lines  such  as  the  Anchor  and  the  Donaldson,  both  of  which,  as 
well  as  the  Cunard  itself,  have  been  instrumental  in  transporting 


^4 

Stavanger fjord  of  the  Norwegian- America  Line 


thousands  of  Norwegians  to  America.  Commodore  Vanderbilt, 
one  of  the  mighty  organizers  of  the  Cunard  Line,  was  of  remote 
Norwegian  ancestry. 

A  Norwegian  Steamship  Company  was  organized  a  little  over 
a  decade  ago.  It  bears  the  name  Norwegian-America  Line.  Be- 
sides a  whole  fleet  of  freight  boats,  it  has  had  two  boats — Ber- 
gensf  jord  and  Stavanger  fjord,  looking  after  the  passenger  traffic. 
They  are  of  large  tonnage  and  modern  in  every  respect.  In  the 
twelve  years,  from  1913  to  1924  inclusive,  The  Norwegian-Amer- 
ica Line  carried  120,586  passengers  westward  and  82,077  easward, 
a  total  of  202,663.  Magnus  Swenson  is  the  president  of  the  Nor- 
wegian-America Line  Agency,  Inc.,  with  residence  in  Madison  and 
offices  in   New  York.  "His  life,"   says   "The   Wisconsin   Engi- 


The  American  Period  335 

neer,"  for  April,  1918,  "should  serve  as  an  inspiration  to  all  pres- 
ent and  future  engineers.  If  the  details  of  his  varied  experiences 
could  be  written,  they  would  read  more  like  a  romance  than  a 
chapter  from  real  life."  He  was  born  April  12,  1854,  at  Lange- 
sund,  Norway.  In  1868  he  left  his  native  land  in  a  sailing  ves- 
sel bound  for  America.  The  voyage  was  long  and  tempestuous. 
It  lasted  twelve  weeks,  during  which  time  22  of  the  60  passen- 
gers died  of  starvation  and  exhaustion.  The  ship  finally  landed 
at  the  island  of  Anticosti  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River. 
The  ship  was  towed  to  Quebec.  There  was  not  a  friend  to  meet 
him.  A  thunder  storm  was  raging  such  as  Magnus  had  never 
seen  or  heard  in  Norway.  He  was  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land, 
but  he  made  his  way  "to  Wisconsin,  secured  employment  in  a 
blacksmith  shop  belonging  to  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern 
Railway  at  Janesville,  Wisconsin.  He  made  up  his  mind  to  go 
to  school  and  become  an  engineer.  He  sent  for  a  catalog  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  and  came  to  Madison  to  attend  Com- 
mencement, but  to  his  surprise,  he  learned  that  Commencement 
was  the  end  of  the  school  year,  not  the  beginning  of  it.  Four 
years  later,  he  took  his  Bachelor's  degree.  In  1883  the  univer- 
sity gave  him  the  M.  S.  degree;  in  1899,  an  honorary  M.  E.,  and 
in  1921,  an  honorary  LL.D. 

He  was  instructor  in  chemistry  at  his  alma  mater,  1880-1883. 
The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  offered  a  prize 
of  $2,500.00  for  the  best  paper  on  making  sugar.  This  prize 
Magnus  Swenson  won,  and  with  it  came  an  offer  of  the  manage- 
ment of  a  sugar  factory  in  Texas.  He  made  many  improvements 
in  sugar  machinery  and  processes.  In  1886-1905  he  was  a  chemi- 
cal engineer  and  manufacturer  at  Fort  Scott,  Kansas,  and  Chi- 
cago. In  1906-1915  he  constructed  hydro-electric  plants  of  the 
Southern  Wisconsin  Power  Company  at  Kilbourn  and  the  Wis- 
consin River  Power  Co.,  at  Prairie  du  Sac,  being  president  and 
general  manager  of  both  companies.  These  plants,  next  to  Keo- 
kuk are  the  largest  in  the  West.  Since  1905  he  has  been  first 
vice  president  of  the  Central  Wisconsin  Trust  Company  and  since 
1919  vice  pres.  of  the  First  Nat.  Bank,  Madison.  Since  1920  he  has 
been  chief  executive  director  of  the  Norw.-Am.  Line  Agency.  He 
has  held  many  civic  offices  of  trust,  such  as:  President  of  the 
Board  oi  Regents  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin ;  chairman  of 
the  Wisconsin  Capital  Commission;  chairman.  State  Council  of 
Defence;  Federal  Food  Administrator  for  Wisconsin,  and  chief 
of  Mission  for  Northern  Europe,  American  Relief  Administra- 
tion^ He  has  received  the  John  Scott  medal  in  recognition  of  his 
services.  The  King  of  Norway  has  created  him  a  Knight  of  St. 
Olay.  The  president  of  Finland  has  decorated  him  with  the 
White  Rose  and  Star  of  Finland.  America  has  bestowed  on 
him  the  United  States  Liberty  Service  medal.     The  "Wisconsin 


336 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Engineer"  says:  "Mr.  Swenson  possesses  those  qualities  that  go 
to  make  up  a  sturdy  and  loyal  citizenship.  He  loves  America 
and  never  tires  of  speaking  of  her  as  the  land  of  opportunity  for 
those  who  have  vision,  and  are  not  afraid  of  hard  work."  The 
"People's  Favorite  Magazine"  for  February,  1921,  has  an  article 
about  him  by  Walter  A.  O'Meara,  which  calls  attention  to  his 
motto :  "Save  the  Waste."  His  whole  life  has  been  spent  saving 
for  others,  whether  the  waste  be  in  dollars,  power,  or  lives.  "He 
was  the  pioneer  in  what  has  become  almost  a  national  passion — 
efficiency.  Out  of  the  industrial  scrap  heap  he  has  extracted  a 
fortune." 

The  "North  Star"  for  October,   1919,  quotes  from  a  Copen- 
hagen paper  concerning  Swenson.     Here  are  a  few  lines  taken 


Ole  Nilsen  G.  T.  Lee  John  Peterson 

Editors   of  Lutheran  Periodicals 

almost  at  random :  "A  pessimistic  Swedish  observer  once  said 
that  Scandinavians  who  emigrated  to  America  became  the  slaves 
of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  Magnus  Swenson  is  decidedly  of  another 
opinion;  he  holds  that  the  descendants  of  these  immigrants  will 
be  among  America's  leaders Magnus  Swenson  repre- 
sents the  plain,  democratic  America We  are  pleased  to 

have  had  him  with  us.  His  great  nation  wishes  to  win  the  con- 
fidence and  good  will  of  all  nations ;  by  being  represented  by  such 
men  as  Magnus  Swenson  it  will  succeed  in  this  effort." 

6.     Railroads 

No  history  of  America  could  proceed  far  without  some  men- 
tion of  "the  iron  rails."  The  development  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  and  the  Far  West  of  Lower  Canada  and  the  Prairie 
Provinces,  could  be  followed  step  by  step  if  there  were  such  a 
thing  as  the  diary  of  the  railroads  intersecting  these  parts. 

Some  of  the  railroads  that  have  been  of  great  service  to  the 
Norwegians  in  their  work  of  building  the  West  should  receive  a 
passing  recognition  here.  Between  New  York  and  Chicago  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio,  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  Wabash,  and,  last  but 


The  American  Period 


337 


not  least,  the  New  York  Central,  are  most  conspicuous.  Between 
Chicago  and  the  Northwest  the  following  have  sometimes  gone 
ahead  of,  or  usually  followed  upon,  the  heels  of  the  Norwegian  set- 
tlers :  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul,  Chicago  and  Northwest- 
ern, Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy,  Chicago  Great  Western, 
Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapo- 
lis and  Omaha,  Illinois  Central,  Minneapolis  and  St.  Louis, 
Great  Northern,  Northern  Pacific,  and  the  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul 
and  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  In  the  Southwest  the  Union  Pacific, 
Southern  Pacific  and  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  have 
received  most  patronage.  In  Canada  the  great  roads  are  the 
Canadian  Pacific  and  the  Canadian  National  Railways,  the  latter 
including  the  Grand  Trunk  and  Canadian  Northern  systems. 


H.   M.   Saeterlie  Dr.  J.  R.  Birkelund  C.  S.  B.  Hoel 

Secy  Foreign  Missions    Sec'y  Foreign  Missions      Sec'y  Home  Missions 

The  first  of  the  railroads  heading  for  the  West  was  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio,  organized  in  1827  to  offset  the  activity  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  New  York  in  finding  a  speedy  and  cheap  route  to 
the  West.  In  1828  the  work  of  construction  began ;  in  1830  the 
road  was  opened  a  distance  of  15  miles.  The  cars  were  drawn 
by  horses.  In  1831  four  3  1-2-ton  engines  were  ordered.  In 
1854  the  line  was  extended  as  far  as  Chicago.  The  eastern  road 
most  used  by  Norwegians  was  the  New  York  Central.  It  was 
begun  in  1828  as  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk  Railroad.  On  August 
9,  1831,  it  ran  its  first  train,  drawn  by  the  famous  locomotive 
"DeWitt  Clinton,"  and  this  event  marks  the  beginning  of  steam 
railroading  in  America.  This  historic  locomotive  and  train  now 
stand  at  the  outer  edge  of  the  east  gallery  of  the  Grand  Central 
Terminal  in  New  York  City,  where  it  can  be  plainly  seen  from 
any  point  in  the  concourse.  The  Hudson  and  Mohawk  was  but 
a  tiny,  short  road.  A  number  of  other  little  roads  were  con- 
structed. In  1843,  it  took  a  dozen  of  these  together  to  make  a 
line  from  Albany  to  Buffalo.  The  fast  express  that  year  made 
this  run  in  30  hours.  Now  it  takes  about  5  hours  and  55  minutes. 
In  1854  a  number  of  other  little  roads  had  been  built,  connecting 


338 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


up  with  Chicago.  The  New  York  Central  as  it  is  now  organized, 
includes  what  was  originally  315  separate  companies.  It  has 
6,899  miles  of  main  line.  It  reaches  directly  162  cities  having 
over  10,000  people,  and  serves  50.3  per  cent  of  the  population  of 
the  United  States.  It  carries  70  per  cent  of  the  passenger  traffic 
between  New  York  and  Chicago.  It  used  79,600  tons  of  steel 
rails  in  one  year  (1923)  just  for  repairs  in  the  lines  east  of 
Buffalo  alone,  and  1,646,100  new  ties  to  replace  those  worn  out 
in  the  same  region.  The  leading  spirit  in  the  creation  of  this 
great  railway  system,  the  greatest  in  the  world,  was  Commodore 
Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  who  is  generally  considered  the  first  out- 
standing genius  in  the  railroad  world.  Vanderbilt  was  a  descend- 


The   DeWitt   Clinton:    New   York   Central's 
First  Locomotive,   1831 


ant  of  the  Dutchman  Jan  Arentzen  Van  der  Bilt,  who  settled  in 
New  Amsterdam  and  married  the  Norwegian  maid  Anneken  Hen- 
dricks, from  Bergen,  Feb.  6,  1650.  This  girl  at  that  time  owned 
a  farm  on  which  New  York's  mightiest  sky  scrapers  now  stand. 
Wall  Street  is  in  the  heart  of  it. 

The  Wabash  Railroad  was  the  first  railroad  in  Illinois,  having 
laid  its  first  rail  in  1838.  Now  it  has  2,473  miles  of  track  stretch- 
ing from  Omaha  and  Kansas  City  to  Buffalo.  87  years  of  ser- 
vice. 

The  present  Illinois  Central  Railroad  comprises  more  than  130 
separate  railroads  that  have  been  joined  by  purchase  or  lease  to 
the  original  Illinois  Central,  which  was  chartered  in  1851  and 
built  in  1852-1856.  It  was  then  only  705.5  miles  long;  now,  in 
1925,  it  has  6,220  miles  extending  from  Chicago  to  New  Orleans 
on  the  south,  and  from  Chicago  to  Omaha,  Sioux  City  and  Sioux 
Falls  on  the  west  and  Minneapolis  on  the  north.  In  the  two  dec- 
ades 1850  to  1870  the  number  of  acres  under  cultivation  in 
Illinois  increased  from  5,000,000  to  19,000,000.  In  1867  the 
Illinois    Central   began   its   expansion    westward   into   Iowa.      It 


The  American  Period 


339 


pierced  the  heart  of  the  great  agricultural  country  of  north  cen- 
tral Iowa,  and  the  part  it  played  in  shaping  the  early  agriculture, 
industry,  commerce  and  trade  in  Illinois  it  also  had  in  Iowa  be- 
tween 1867  and  1880.  It  has  done  its  share  in  solidifying  the 
economic  interests  of  the  North  and  the  South,  the  East  and  the 
West.  The  Illinois  Central  ranks  14th  in  mileage  and  4th  in 
amount  of   freight  traffic  handled  annually. 

The  Rock  Island  is  also  a  combination  of  many  former 
roads.  It  was  first  known  as  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Rail- 
road Co.,  and  secured  its  right  of  way  in  1852-1853.     A  charter 


Twentieth  Century  Limited :   "The  Greatest 
Train  in  the  World" 

(From     "Shipper     and     Carrier,"     Sept.,     1924) 


was  granted  permitting  a  bridge  to  be  built  across  the  Mississippi 
at  Rock  Island,  and  the  bridge  was  built,  a  wooden  structure 
1,582  feet  long,  glistening  white  by  day  and  standing  by  night 
like  a  monster  spider,  resting  on  five  stone  piers.  It  was  dedi- 
cated Sept.  1,  1854,  by  James  Grant,  speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  Iowa.  Fourteen  days  after  the  crossing  of 
the  first  train,  the  bridge  was  hit  by  a  boat,  and  boat  and  bridge 
were  burned.  The  Bridge  Co.  was  sued  and  an  attempt  was  made 
to  prohibit  the  reconstruction  of  the  bridge  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  an  obstruction.  Abraham  Lincoln  appeared  as  the  at- 
torney for  the  railroad  and  won  the  case.  In  1866  the  road  was 
incorporated  as  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  Railroad 
Co.  In  1852  it  had  40  miles  of  road  in  one  state ;  in  1862  it  had 
444  miles  in  3  states;  in  1872  it  had  1,298  miles  in  4  states;  in 
1882  it  had  2,216  miles  in  4  states;  in  1892  it  had  5,229  miles  in 
10  states;  in  1902  it  had  6,351  miles  in  12  states;  in  1912  it  had 
7,309  miles  in  13  states ;  and  in  1922  it  had  7,961  miles  in  13  states. 


340  Norwegian  People  in  America 

It  runs  eight  main  tracks  from  Chicago  to  the  Mississippi,  carry- 
ing mighty  locomotives — power  units  of  300,  400  or  500  tons' 
weight  each. 

The  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railway  is  the  second 
longest  system  in  the  United  States.  Like  other  large  railways, 
it  began  with  a  consolidation  of  numerous  small  railroads.  A 
study  of  the  industrial  map  of  the  United  States  in  connection 
with  a  map  of  this  road,  discloses  that  along  its  lines  is  produced 
every  kind  of  mineral  taken  from  the  soil  of  the  United  States; 
every  variety  of  lumber  milled  in  the  country  may  be  found  along 
the  company's  lines ;  and  its  farms  and  factories,  its  cities  and 
marts,  portray  a  most  astounding  variety  and  vigor  of  progress. 
The  road  began  in  1863  with  a  track  of  less  than  300  miles  and 
its  mileage  on  Dec.  31,  1922,  was  11,032,  with  tracks  stretching 
from  Chicago  to  Seattle,  and  criss-crossing  back  and  forth 
throughout  the  great  Northwest.  This  road,  possibly  more  than 
any  other,  penetrates  the  Norwegian  settlements.  It  has  the 
largest  engine  in  the  world  and  the  longest  stretch  of  electrified 
road,  440  miles  across  the  Rockies  and  209  miles  across  the  Cas- 
cades. 

The  Chicago  Great  Western  dates  back  to  1886,  when  the  Old 
Mason  City  and  Fort  Dodge  line  was  built.  From  this  line  and 
the  Iowa  and  Pacific,  started  in  1870,  the  present  Chicago  Great 
Western,  or  Maple  Leaf  Route,  has  been  built.  It  has  the  short- 
est track  between  Chicago  and  Minneapolis,  Minneapolis  and 
Kansas  City.  The  traveling  public  calls  it  the  "friendly  line." 
The  Chicago  and  Northwestern  is  an  old  line  with  8,463  miles  of 
track.  One  of  the  Northwestern  passenger  trains  between  Chicago 
and  Minneapolis  in  1925  was  named  "The  Viking."  Closely  af- 
filiated with  this  road  is  the  Omaha  Road  with  1,749  miles  in  oper- 
ation. The  Minneapolis  and  St.  Louis  has  1,650  miles  and  the 
Burlington  has  9,401.  The  Northern  Pacific  has  6,669  miles,  the 
Northern  has  8,254,  and  the  Soo  has  8,254,  and  the  Soo  has  4,396. 

James  J.  Hill  is  the  great  name  connected  with  the  Great 
Northern  Road.  He  obtained  control  also  of  The  Northern 
Pacific  and  the  Burlington,  competitors  of  the  Great  Northern. 
He  came  to  St.  Paul  from  Canada  in  1856,  an  18-year-old  boy  of 
Scotch-Irish  parentage,  said  to  have  been  not  so  very  remotely 
also  of  Norse  strain.  He  worked  in  steamboat  offices  at  St.  Paul, 
1856-1865;  was  in  business  for  himself,  1865-1870;  established 
the  Red  River  Transportation  Co.  between  St.  Paul  and  Winni- 
peg, 1870;  organized  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Manitoba 
Railway,  1878 ;  reorganized  this  company  into  the  Great  Northern, 
1890,  extended  it  from  St.  Paul  to  Puget  Sound,  served  as 
its  president,  1893-1907,  its  chairman,  1907-1916.  Owned  and 
directed  steamship  lines,  banks,  iron  mines,  steel  mills,  scientific 
farm  stations,  and  many  other  industries  throughout  the  United 


The  American  Period  341 

States.  He  was  one  of  the  greatest  empire  builders  and  was 
voted  the  First  Citizen  of  Minnesota.  A  philanthropist,  he  gave 
large  gifts  to  church  schools.  In  1903  he  gave  $50,000.00  to  the 
Luther  College  Endowment  Fund;  in  1915  he  gave  $50,000.00 
to  the  St.  Olaf  College  Endowment  Fund.  He  affiliated  with  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  Dr.  Egil  Boeckmann  is  married  to  one 
of  his  daughters.  Dr.  Egil  is  one  of  the  best  foot  ball  stars  Min- 
nesota has  had  and  a  son  of  Dr.  Eduard  Boeckmann,  illustrious 
Norwegian  surgeon. 

California  was  admitted  as  a  state  in  1850,  and  a  plan  was 
inaugurated  to  bind  her  firmly  to  the  Union  by  a  great  railroad, 
built  at  national  cost.  By  1856  the  people  began  to  demand  it, 
and  in  that  year  the  Republican  party,  and  in  1860  both  the  Re- 
publican and  Democratic  parties,  pledged  themselves  to  build 
one.  Two  companies  were  chartered.  One,  the  Union  Pacific, 
was  to  begin  at  Omaha  and  build  westward;  the  other,  the  Cen- 
tral Pacific,  was  to  begin  at  Sacramento  and  build  eastward  until 
the  two  met.  The  roads  received  aid  from  the  Government  to 
the  extent  of  $55,076,000.00  plus  every  odd  numbered  section  in 
a  strip  of  public  land  twenty  miles  wide  along  its  entire  length. 
The  roads  met  on  May  10th,  1869,  thus  making  the  first  trans- 
continental system.  In  1924  the  Union  Pacific  operated  3,709 
miles.  The  Santa  Fe  road  runs  in  a  southwesterly  direction  from 
Chicago  to  Kansas  and  Galveston,  Texas,  to  Albuquerque,  New 
Mexico,  and  west  to  Los  Angeles  and  San  Francisco.  The  Santa 
Fe  is  the  fifth  largest  railway  in  the  United  States  in  mileage, 
operating  8,957  miles  of  track.  The  largest  railroad  in  the  United 
States  is  the  Southern  Pacific  with  11,119  miles. 

The  Southern  Pacific  takes  us  farthest  south.  It  starts 
at  New  Orleans  and  follows  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  United  States  as  far  as  California,  then  it  proceeds  north 
as  far  as  Portland,  Oregon.  The  trip  to  California  by  any  trans- 
continental route  is  fascinating.  Not  least  the  one  over  the  South- 
ern Pacific.  You  cross  great  mountain  ranges,  and  pass  through 
sections  made  famous  by  the  colorful  exploits  of  hardy  pioneers. 
Here  are  stately  snow-capped  peaks;  here  are  rich  valleys.  A 
desert  which  is  strange  and  beautiful  contrasts  with  gardens  of 
rare  blossoms  from  all  the  world.  Green,  rolling  foot-hills  and 
vast,  fearful  forests.  Wide  sandy  beaches  throw  back  the  long 
breakers,  rocky  headlands  battle  the  thundering  surf,  in  the  soli- 
tude of  the  mountains  lie  charming  camps.  Down  by  the  deep 
blue  sea  are  gay  and  giddy  multitudes.  Imperial  Valley,  Salton 
Sea,  San  Jacinta,  Mt.  Lowe,  Yosemite  Valley,  Mount  Shasta, 
beauty  spots  of  nature  of  surpassing  charm.  This  is  the  lure  of 
California. 

The  first  Canadian  railway  was  constructed  in  1836,  between 
St.  Johns,  Quebec,  and  LaPrairie.    It  was  16  miles  long  and  was 


342 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


operated  by  horses.  In  1850  Canada  had  66  miles  of  railway; 
in  1860,  2,065;  in  1870,  2,617;  in  1880,  7,194;  in  1890,  13,151;  in 
1900,  17,657;  in  1910,  24,731;  and  in  1920,  39,384.  The  railway 
era  in  Canada  may  be  said  to  have  begun  in  1851  when  an  act 
was  passed  providing  for  the  construction  of  the  Grand  Trunk 
Railway  between  Montreal  and  Toronto.  In  1871  the  terms  un- 
der which  British  Columbia  entered  the  confederation  pledged 
the  Dominion  of  Canada  to  commence  the  Pacific  railway  with- 
in two  years  and  complete  it  within  ten  years.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  main  line  was  not  completed  before  1885.  The  Canadian 
Pacific  is  the  longest  railroad  in  America,  having  13,350  miles  to 


Lars  Swenson  Lars  O.  Thorpe  Halle  Steensland 

Financiers  and  Philanthropists 

its  credit.  A  second  transcontinental  railway,  the  Canadian 
Northern,  was  begun  in  1896.  In  1921  this  road  had  9,717  miles 
of  single  track.  These  two  railroads  were  instrumental  in  open- 
ing up  the  prairie  provinces  and  bringing  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  immigrants  from  Europe  and  the  United  States  into  Canada. 
The  Grand  Trunk  began  to  look  with  envy  at  the  large  and  in- 
creasing revenue  drawn  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  from  the  great 
Northwest.  In  1902,  therefore,  this  road  submitted  to  the  Do- 
minion Government  a  plan  to  construct  a  third  transcontinental — 
the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific.  The  original  Grand  Trunk  had  3,589 
miles  of  single  track,  and  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  has  2,743. 
The  World  War  checked  immigration  and  reduced  the  income 
of  these  railroads  so  that  they  got  into  dire  financial  difficulties. 
Ultimately  the  Dominion  Government  had  to  take  over  all  the 
Canadian  Northern  and  Grand  Trunk  properties.  In  1923  these 
two  roads  were  amalgamated  and  together  with  some  other 
Canadian  government  roads  now  constitute  the  Canadian  National 
Railways.    In  1921  the  total  length  was  20,738  miles. 

Many  Norwegians  have  risen  to  prominence  in  the  railroad 
world,  some  as  railroad  commissioners  working  for  the  state, 
others  as  railroad  officials  working  for  the  railroads.  Typical  of 
the  officials  of  the  railways  are  the  building  and  economy  engi- 


The  American  Period 


343 


neers,  such  as  Olaf  Hoff  of  the  New  York  Central  and  O.  L. 
Lindrew  of  the  Illinois  Central. 

John  L.  Erdall,  born  June  5,  1863,  at  Deerneld,  Wisconsin, 
a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  (A.  B.,  1885;  LL.B., 
1887),  was  a  lawyer  at  Madison,  1887-1901;  district  attorney; 
asst.  attorney  general,  Wisconsin,  1895-1899.  In  1901  he  became 
asst.  general  attorney  for  the  Chicago  Great  Western,  with  office 
at  St.  Paul ;  in  1908  he  became  general  attorney  of  the  Soo,  and 
in  1922  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  general  solicitor,  with 
office  in  Minneapolis.  His  son  Arthur  is  assistant  solicitor  for 
the  Milwaukee  Road. 


Commodore    Vanderbilt        Gerhard  M.  Dahl  Hauman  G.  Haugan 

Captains  of  Industry:  Railroad  Builders 


Hauman  G.  Haugan  was  the  comptroller  of  the  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee and  St.  Paul,  with  offices  at  Chicago,  1901-1921.  Haugan 
was  born  November  7,  1840,  at  Oslo,  and  died  in  Chicago  in  1921 
at  the  age  of  81.  He  came  to  the  United  States  in  1858.  Be- 
came a  store  clerk,  then  a  bank  clerk,  then  cashier.  In  1870  he 
was  made  paymaster  and  auditor  of  the  Southern  Minnesota  Rail- 
road. When  this  road  was  purchased,  in  1880,  by  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  he  moved  to  Milwaukee  and  became 
private  secretary  of  Sir  W.  C.  Van  Home  of  this  road.  He 
next  served  as  land  commissioner  including  the  placing,  naming 
and  developing  of  many  new  towns.  In  1884  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  Haugan  and  Lindgren,  bankers ;  he  was  a  director  and  con- 
trolling factor  in  the  State  Bank  of  Chicago,  one  of  the  great 
Norwegian  banks  of  America.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Norwegian  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  Norwegian- America 
Line.  He  worked  hard  for  the  Mindegave  (Memorial  Gift)  to 
Norway  in  1914.  Fostered  at  the  Christiania  Orphanage,  he  re- 
membered this  institution  with  gifts  of  money  from  time  to  time, 
including  $5,000.00  in  his  will. 


344  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The  street  railways  have  also  had  in  their  employ  Norwegian 
talent.  As,  for  example,  Nils  Marcus  Thygeson,  who  was  the 
general  counsel  for  the  Twin  City  Traction  Lines.  Tygeson  was 
a  law  graduate  of  Wisconsin,  1887.  Gerhard  Melvin  Dahl,  a  son 
of  Rev.  Theodore  Dahl,  D.D.,  former  president  of  the  United 
Norwegian  Lutheran  Church,  is  the  chairman  of  the  Brooklyn- 
Manhattan  Transit  Corporation,  the  largest  street  railway  system 
in  the  world.  Mr.  Dahl  is  a  law  graduate  of  Wisconsin,  1896,  and 
an  A.M.,  1921.  In  1912-1917  he  was  vice  president  of  the  Electric 
Bond  and  Share  Co.,  New  York;  in  1917-1923,  vice  president  of 
the  Chase  National  Bank;  since  1923,  partner  in  Hayden-Stone 
and  Co.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Alabama  Power  Co.,  the  Alabama 
Traction,  Light  and  Power  Co.,  the  American  Foreign  Banking 
Corporation,  the  Electrical  Utilities  Corporation,  the  Lehigh  Power 
Securities  Corporation,  the  Philadelphia  Co.,  the  Chase  National 
Bank,  the  New  Orleans  Public  Service,  Inc.,  the  Pierce  Arrow 
Motor  Car  Co.,  the  Williamsburg  Power  Plant  Corporation,  the 
Nassau  Electric  Railroad  Co.,  the  Duquesne  Light  Co.,  New  York 
Rapid  Transit  Corporation,  etc.  He  has  been  decorated  by  the 
Emperor  of  Japan  with  the  Order  of  the  Rising  Sun.  The  com- 
panies of  which  he  is  chairman  or  director  have  a  total  valuation 
running  up  into  the  billions. 

The  Norwegian  farmers  have  started  building  several  railroads, 
which  later  have  become  integral  parts  of  larger  systems.  One 
of  the  promoters  of  Norwegian  railroad  building  is  Julius  Rosholt. 
Born  at  Scandinavia,  Wis.,  August  27,  1854,  trained  at  the  Osh- 
kosh  State  Normal,  he  became  a  high  school  superintendent.  In 
1881  he  moved  to  Mayville,  N.  D.,  and  settled  down  as  a  farmer. 
In  1885  he  was  induced  to  take  shares  in  a  bank.  In  1887  he  or- 
ganized the  Mayville  National  Bank,  and  later  he  did  likewise  at 
Hatton,  Aneta,  Sharon,  Lawton,  Edmore,  Hampden,  Willow  City, 
Omemee,  Westhope,  Sawyer,  Ryder,  Hunter,  Maddock,  and  Don- 
nybrook,  all  in  North  Dakota;  Halstad  and  Hendrum  in  Minne- 
sota; Homestead  in  Montana;  Waupaca  in  Wisconsin; and  Rosholt 
in  South  Dakota.  In  1906  he  began  his  career  as  a  railroad  build- 
er. He  built  the  Hill  City  Railroad  which  connects  with  the  Great 
Northern  at  Swan  River,  Minn.,  and  this  road  he  sold  to  the  Ar- 
mour Co.,  Chicago.  In  1912  he  built  a  90-mile  line  for  the  farm- 
ers of  Roberts  and  Marshall  counties,  S.  D.,  and  sold  it  to  the  Soo. 
It  cost  the  farmers  only  62.5  cents  per  acre,  and  "it  is  no  wonder," 
says  Harriet  E.  Clark  in  "Scandinavia,"  June,  1924,  "that  Mr. 
Rosholt  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  farmers  residing  along  that 
line."  The  War  stopped  his  building  of  railroads.  He  has  land 
investments  as  far  north  as  Prince  Albert,  Sarsk.,  and  rice  fields  in 
Texas  and  Louisiana. 


The  American  Period  345 

7.  Occupations,   1890-1925 

The  whole  earth  bears  impress  of  the  law  of  work.  It  is  a 
very  busy  place.  The  ground  on  which  we  walk,  the  air  above 
and  the  waters  beneath  us,  all  teem  with  busy  life.  As  Cole- 
ridge says : 

All  nature  seems  at  work ;  slugs  leave  their  lair, 
The  bees  are  stirring — birds  are  on  the  wing, 
And  Winter,   slumbering  in  the  open  air, 
Wears  on  his  smiling  face  the  dream  of  Spring. 

The  Norwegians  who  came  to  America  and  their  descendants 
have  been  workers.  They  came  here  to  work;  they  teach  their 
children  the  dignity  of  labor  in  any  honest  calling.  They  enjoy 
their  work.  Most  of  them  settled  on  the  farm;  and  though  one- 
half  of  them  still  live  on  the  farm  they  are  not  like  Markham's 
"Man  with  the  Hoe" : 

Bowed   with  the  weight  of  centuries  he  leans 
Upon  his  hoe  and  gazes  upon  the  ground; 
The   emptiness   of    ages   in   his    face, 
And  on  his  back  the  burden  of  the  world. 
Who  made  him  dead  to   rapture  and   despair, 
A  thing  that  grieves  not  and  that  never  hopes, 
Stolid   and  stunned,  a  brother  to  the  ox? 

Not  so  the  Norwegian.  He  came  here  as  a  free  man,  sprung 
from  a  free  race  that  has  never  known  bondage,  the  most  inde- 
pendent and  individualistic  people  that  history  knows  about.  He 
came  here  because  this  was  a  free  country  after  his  own  heart  and 
because  he  would  have  the  privilege  of  carving  a  home  and  an 
empire  out  of  the  wilderness.  His  heart  was  full  of  sadness  at 
parting  with  beloved  land  and  people  across  the  sea,  but  it  was 
filled  with  gladness  that  he  had  a  great  work  to  do  here  and  that 
God  was  near  him  with  His  blessing.  So  he  rejoiced  at  his  task, 
like  Mackey's  "Miller  of  the  Dee" : 

There  dwelt  a  miller  hale  and  bold 

Beside  the  River  Dee ; 
He  worked  and  sang  from  morn  till  night, 

No   lark  more  blithe  than  he ; 
And  this  the  burden  of  his  song 

Forever  used  to  be — 
"I  envy  nobody;  no,  not  I, 

And  nobody  envies  me." 

The  question  of  occupation  is  a  very  important  one,  and  state 
and  national  government  officials,  social  workers  and  students  of 
domestic  economy,  are  making  one  investigation  in  this  field  after 
another.    A  few  of  these  will  be  briefly  summarized. 


346  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Prior  to  1850  no  effort  was  made  to  obtain  a  census  of  the  oc- 
cupations of  the  people,  although  in  1820  and  in  1840  the  number 

of  persons  engaged  in  certain  general  classes 
Census  of  1890  of  occupations  was  called  for.    At  the  census 

of  1850  an  inquiry  was  made  on  the  popula- 
tion schedule  as  to  the  occupations  of  free  males  over  15  years 
of  age,  and  323  occupations  were  listed  alphabetically,  but  with- 
out any  details  as  to  age  or  nationality.  In  1860  a  list  of  584  oc- 
cupations was  compiled,  with  census  returns.  At  the  census  of 
1870  occupations  were  tabulated  for  all  persons  10  years  of  age 
and  over,  and  subdivided  by  sex,  age  and  nationality,  and  classi- 
fied under  four  general  heads — agriculture,  manufacturing  and 
mechanical  and  mining  industries,  trade  and  transportation,  pro- 
fessional and  personal  service.  There  were  338  occupations  de- 
signated. In  1880  the  occupations  were  reduced  to  265  classes,  and 
the  number  of  separate  nationalities  was  much  reduced.  In  the 
1890  census  the  occupational  list  is  reduced  to  218,  and  several 
other  changes  are  made.  The  census  reports  are  hard  to  use  satis- 
factorily, because  no  two  are  alike  in  plan.  The  1890  Report 
contains  98  pages  of  summary  and  500  pages  of  tables  on  occupa- 
tions. The  statistics  of  Norway  are  combined  with  those  of 
Sweden.   Two  tables  are  herewith  submitted : 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  FOREIGN-BORN  NORWEGIANS 

All  Foreign-bom 

1880  1880  1890  1890 

Occupations                               Number  %  Number  % 

Agriculture,    fisheries,   mining    99,6i5  48.17  182,519  37.93 

Manufacturing   and   mechanical   pursuits     36,299  17.66  112,851  23.45 

Trade  and  transportation   15,789  8.06  43,848  9-34 

Domestic  and  personal  service   51.592  25.10  135,213  28.10 

Professional    and    public    service    2,081  1.01  5,665  1.18 

All  occupations    205,376  100.00  480,096  100.00 

Foreign-born  Norwegian  Males 

Agriculture,  fisheries,  mining   98,983  54-37  179,076  44-15 

Manufacturing  and   mechanical   pursuits    33,040  18.15  102,871  25.37 

Trade   and   transportation    15,789  8.67  43,484  10.81 

Domestic  and  personal   service       32,4I5  J7-8o  74,882  18.46 

Professional  and  public  service  1,832  1.01  4,910  1.21 

All  occupations    182,059     100.00      405,223     100.00 

Foreign-bom  Norwegian  Females 

Agriculture,    fisheries,    mining    632        2.69          3,443  4-55 

Manufacturing   and   mechanical   pursuits       3,259       13.89          9,980  1320 

Trade   and   transportation    149        0.64          1,102  1.46 

Domestic   and   personal   service    19,177      81.72        60,331  79-79 

Professional  and  public  service   249        1.06 755  i-QQ 


All    occupations    23,466     100.00        75,611 


100.00 


The  American  Period 


347 


In  the  following  statement  the  total  number  of  persons  in 
each  sex  is  distributed  according  to  the  principal  occupations  in 
1890.  The  data  have  to  do  with  the  foreign-born  Swedes  and  Nor- 
wegians only.  In  1890  there  were  six  foreign-born  Swedes  in 
America  to  every  four  foreign-born  Norwegians. 

PRINCIPAL  OCCUPATIONS 


Occupations 

Farmers,   planters,   overseers    

Laborers    (not   specified)    

Agricultural    laborers    

Carpenters  and  joiners   

Miners   and    quarrymen    

Steam  railroad  employes    

Saw  and  planing  mill  employes   

Iron,  steel  and  other  metal  workers  .... 

Tailors  and  tailoresses    

Dressmakers      

Merchants  and   dealers   

Painters,   glaziers,  varnishers    

Blacksmiths  and  wheelwrights   

Boatmen,  canalmen,  pilots,  sailors    

Draymen,  hackmen,  teamsters,  etc.   ..... 

Clerks,   copyists,    stenographers    

Lumbermen,   raftsmen,  wood  choppers.  . 

Machinists    

Boatmen,  canalmen,  pilots,  sailors 

Brick  and   stone   masons    

Servants     

Laundresses   

Cabinet    makers,    upholsterers    

Salesmen     

Wood  workers  (not  otherwise  specified) 
Engineers,  firemen  (not  locomotive)  . . . 
Cotton,  woolen,  textile  mill  operatives  . . 

Seamstresses    

Marble  and   stone  cutters    

Housekeepers,    stewardesses    

Restaurant  and  saloon  keepers    

Brick  and   tile  makers    

Agents     (claim,    commission,     insurance, 

etc.)    

Clergymen    

Foremen,   overseers    

Bartenders    

Messengers,   packers,  porters,   etc 

Watchmen,  policemen,   detectives    

Leather  curriers,   dressers,   tanners    

Hostlers,   livery  stable  keepers    

Other  occupations   


Males 

Females 

Number 

% 

Number 

% 

110,013 

27.12 

3,097 

4.10 

60,637 

14.95 

45,206 

11. 14 

.... 

21,758 

5.36 

14,869 

366 

.... 

n,057 

2.72 

9,8i7 

2.42 

8,253 

2.03 

7,217 

1.78 

1,211 

1.60 

.... 

3,930 

5-21 

7,168 

1.77 

6,004 

1.48 

5,473 

1-35 

5,320 

1.31 

5,272 

1.30 

5,041 

1.24 

4,945 

1.22 

4,732 

1.17 

4,692 

1. 16 

4,582 

1.13 

4,401 

1.08 

53,644 

71.04 

3,o66 

4.06 

2,992 

0.74 

2,225 

o.55 

2,201 

0.54 

2,189 

o.54 

2,095 

0.52 

1,460 

1.93 

.... 

1,915 

2.54 

1,784 

0.44 

.... 

.... 

1,785 

2.36 

1,767 

044 

1,508 

0.37 

1,141 

0-34 

1,305 

0.32 

1,298 

0.32 

M74 

0.29 

1,162 

0.29 

1,128 

0.28 

1,118 

0.28 

1,013 

0.25 

33,120 

8.10 

5,402 

7.16 

All  occupations  405,677     100.00      75,510     100.00 


348  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The   Immigration   Commission   was   created   by   Congress   in 
1907.    Its  object  was  to  make  full  inquiry  into  the  subject  of  im- 
migration.   The  "Reports  of  the  Immigration 
Immigration  Com-      Commission"  make  up  a  series  of  40  volumes 
mission,  1910  0f    detailed    information    on   the   immigration 

from  1820  to  1910,  the  emigration  condition 
in  Europe,  the  immigrant  races,  immigrants  in  industries,  im- 
migrants in  cities,  education,  crime,  insanity,  distribution  of  im- 
migrants, etc.  There  are  several  volumes  on  the  immigrant  in 
industries.  The  following  is  a  digest  of  these  reports  with  regard 
to  the  Norwegians  of  the   1st  and  2nd  generations. 

Male  Breadwinners,  1900 

'rt  'So  v  c  'So  c  c 

S.  sf  s        w        se «       £ 

O  ££  £  £S         £ 

Agricultural    pursuits     85.093  49.9  53,942  63.0 

Mining    2,180  1.3  416  0.5 

Manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits   ...  37,413  21.8  9,071  11.1 

Transportation    5, 191  3.0  2,207  2.4 

Trade    12,961  7.5  6,372  7.3 

Domestic  and  personal   service    21,973  12.8  8,228  96 

Clerical   service    3,198  2.0  3,514  39 

Professional  and  public  service   2,997  1.8  1,914  2.2 

All  occupations    171,006     100.0      85,658     100.0 

Female  Breadwinners,   1900 

Agricultural    pursuits     3,169       13.8  962        3.8 

Mining     

Manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits   . . .       3,522       15.4  4,564       18.2 

Transportation    

Trade    125        0.5  44        02 

Domestic  and  personal   service    14,649      64.0  14,172       56.5 

Clerical   service    831        3.7  2,408        9.6 

Professional  and  public  service    ....          600        2.6  2,931       11.7 

All  occupations    22,986    100.0      25,082     100.0 

These  tables  are  self-explanatory  and  are  worthy  of  much 
meditation.  They  show  what  occupations  each  generation  prefers. 
They  show  the  relation  between  the  1st  and  the  2nd  generation, 
between  men  and  women  breadwinners.  They  do  not  show  what 
standing  the  Norwegians  have  among  the  races  of  America,  nor 
do  they  show  what  per  cent  of  Norwegians  are  breadwinners. 
The  following  table  presents  these  facts  with  respect  to  farming : 


The  American  Period  349 


American  Farmers,  1900 


^  ■  J  "^  S  rj 

1  Norwegian    85,093  49.8 

2  Danish     34,951  42.3 

3  Swiss     22,831  37.8 

4  Swedish     89,806  30.2 

5  Bohemian     22,857  32.0 

6  German   348,265  27.3 

7  French     n,355  22.1 

8  English   Canadian    41,659  21.8 

9  Scotch     23,710  18.3 

10  English    79,340  18.1 

11  French  Canadian   22,850  13.6 

12  Irish     97,454  13-6 

13  Polish    19,256  10.5 

14  Russian     19,490  10.2 

15  Austrian    12,314  8.0 

16  Italian    16,614  6.0 

17  Hungarian     2,854  3.2 

18  Other  races   84,370  24.5 


a 
u 

no 

C 

g 

<v 

<L> 

bfl 

O 

■a  in 

G 

&  s 

0 

53,942 

63.O 

I 

11,622 

50.3 

2 

14,597 

42.0 

6 

29,067 

43-1 

3-5 

13,997 

42.8 

5 

426,910 

28.6 

9 

14,845 

26.9 

10 

54,992 

30.9 

7 

27,111 

43-1 

3-fi 

II7,760 

26.6 

11 

21,109 

22.1 

15 

179,499 

16.5 

16 

6,236 

24.0 

14 

4,284 

29.3 

8 

3,812 

26.1 

12 

I,6l3 

9-5 

18 

371 

9.6 

17 

89,823 

25.0 

13 

1,071,590 

25.9 

All  races    1,034,176        21.2 

The  census  figures  indicate  that  21.2  per  cent,  or  more  than 
one-fifth,  of  the  foreign-born  have  gone  to  work  on  the  farm,  and 
that  the  percentage  in  the  second  generation  has  increased  to  25.9, 
or  more  than  one-fourth.  It  should  be  said  that  the  increase  is 
really  not  in  the  per  cent  of  farmers,  but  in  the  per  cent  of  farm 
laborers.  It  should  be  noted  that  some  of  the  nationalities  are 
represented  by  very  small  numbers  in  the  second  generation  as 
compared  with  the  first.  This  is  true  of  the  Austrians,  Hungarians, 
Italians,  Poles  and  Russians.  It  results  from  the  fact  that  the 
immigration  of  these  people  is  of  comparatively  recent  origin,  so 
that  the  second  generation  in  1890  consisted  principally  of  chil- 
dren, few  of  whom  were  old  enough  to  take  up  an  occupation  in 
1890.  Finally,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  Norwegians  are  far 
in  the  lead  in  agriculture.  The  Norwegian  farmer  is  unique.  Long 
may  he  live !    Greatly  may  he  thrive ! 

The  average  size  of  the  Norwegian  farms  in  1920  was  240 
acres  over  against  180  acres  for  the  country  at  large.  The  average 
price  of  land  in  the  Northwest  where  the  Norwegians  live  was 
$25,518.00  in  1920  over  against  $12,084.00  for  the  country  at 
large.  That  is,  the  land  in  the  Northwest  is  more  than  twice  as 
valuable  as  the  average  for  the  whole  country.  The  Norwegians 
in  Iowa  own  the  best  land  in  that  state,  averaging  nearly  $40,000.00 


350  Norwegian  People  in  America 

per  farm.  In  Wisconsin  they  have  the  best  land.  In  Minnesota, 
the  Dakotas,  Montana,  the  same.  Only  15  per  cent  of  the  Nor- 
wegians are  tenants  in  Iowa,  as  over  against  41  per  cent  of  the 
state  as  a  whole.  In  the  adjoining  states  the  same  condition  pre- 
vails.   The  Norwegian  farmers  have  been  making  America. 

Rev.  H.  C.  Holm,  Eagle  Grove,  Iowa,  president  of  the  Iowa 
District  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church,  happened  to  be  in 
Washington  once  while  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  in  office.  He 
called  on  President  Roosevelt  to  pay  his  respects.  Now,  Holm 
is  a  very  imposing  looking  man.  Six  feet  tall,  large-boned,  weigh- 
ing easily  250  pounds,  with  open,  kindly  face,  deep,  expressive 
voice  that  can  carry  a  half  mile  or  more.  In  short,  a  manly  man, 
sure  to  delight  the  Rough  Rider  Roosevelt.  These  two  men  looked 
at  each  other  in  mutual  admiration  and  clasped  hands  long  and 
vigorously.  "So  you  are  a  Norwegian,"  said  Teddie.  "Yes,  sir," 
answered  Holm,  "and  it  looks  as  if  we  Norwegians  are  going  to 
rule  the  land  at  last."  "What  do  you  mean,  sir?"  asked  the  Presi- 
dent in  surprise,  as  he  withdrew  his  fist.  "Mean?  I  mean  that 
we  Norwegians  are  buying  up  the  land  and  raising  the  children, 
and  the  future  of  America  is  ours."  "Shake  again,"  said 
Roosevelt. 

In  1901  Martin  Ulvestad  published  his  "Norge  i  Amerika 
med  Kart"   (Norway  in  America  with  Map).    In  this  work  he 

lists  64,682  Norwegians  by  name,  and  gives 
Martin  Ulvestad:  their  occupation  and  post  office.  On  the  basis 
1901  of  his  researches  he  concludes  that  in  that  year 

64  per  cent  of  the  Norwegians  were  engaged 
in  farming,  18  per  cent  worked -in  towns  and  cities,  7  per  cent  were 
occupied  on  the  water  as  sailors,  etc.,  6  per  cent  were  lumbermen, 
3  per  cent  miners,  and  2  per  cent  fishermen.  A  recount  of  the 
names,   however,   gives   the    following   occupational   distribution: 


NORWEGIANS  IN  THE  OCCUPATIONS 

Representative 

Occupation                                             Men  Per  cent 

Agriculture    41,533  64.2 

Mining    56  0.1 

Manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits                2,108  3.2 

Trade     7,289  11.3 

Transportation    322  0.5 

Domestic  and  personal  service  7878  12.2 

Professional  and  public  service 5406  8.5 

All  occupations  64,682  100  o 


The  American  Period  351 

Volume  IV  of  the  Census  of  1920  is  devoted  exclusively  to 
occupations.  It  deals  with  the  enumeration  and  classification  of 
occupations,  the  number  and  sex  of  occupied 
Census  of  1920  persons,  color,  nativity,  parentage,  age,  mari- 

tal condition,  etc.,  of  the  people  who  work, 
but  it  does  not  give  any  information  about  nationality.  People  are 
interested  to  know  how  many  Norwegians  are  in  this  and  that 
occupation,  how  many  are  physicians,  clergymen,  druggists,  hold 
public  office,  and  the  like.  With  the  help  of  this  census  report  and 
other  data  an  estimate  can  be  made. 

This  report  shows  the  number  and  proportion  of  males  and 
females  10  years  of  age  and  over  engaged  in  gainful  occupations. 
It  is  78.2  per  cent  of  the  men  and  21.1  per  cent  of  the  women. 
In  the  1890  Report  it  is  shown  that  the  per  cent  of  Norwegians 
engaged  in  gainful  occupations  was  4.5  per  cent  greater  than  the 
average  for  the  whole  country.  Let  us  then  assume  that  80  per 
cent  of  the  Norwegian  men  are  breadwinners  and  20  per  cent 
of  the  women. 

Volume  II  of  the  Census  Report  for  1920  gives  the  distribu- 
tion as  to  ages.  21.7  per  cent  of  the  people  are  under  10  years 
of  age;  78.3  per  cent  are  10  years  and  over.  The  total  Nor- 
wegian population  in  1925  is  approximately  2,500,000,  1,250,000 
males,  1,250,000  females.  78  per  cent  of  the  males  is  975,000; 
78  per  cent  of  the  women  is  975,000.  80  per  cent  of  the  males 
10  years  and  over  are  at  work— 80  per  cent  of  975,000  is  780,000  ; 
20  per  cent  of  the  females  10  years  and  over  are  at  work — 20  per 
cent  of  975,000  is  195,000.  780,000  Norwegian  men  and  195,000 
Norwegian  women  at  work. 

Volume  IV  of  the  1920  Report  shows,  furthermore,  the  per 
cent  of  males  and  females  in  total  persons  10  years  of  age  and 
over  in  each  general  division  of  occupations.    Thus : 

PER  CENT  AND  SEX  OF  OCCUPIED  AMERICANS,  1920 

Per  cent  Per  cent 

No.                                  Occupation  male  female 

1.  Agriculture,   forestry,  animal  husbandry   . .  .  29.8  12.7 

2.  Mining    2-3                    0.0 

3.  Manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits    ...  33.0  22.5 

4.  Transportation    8.6                   2.5 

5.  Trade    10.8                    7.8 

6.  Domestic  and  personal  service    3.7  25.6 

7.  Clerical  service   5.1  16.7 

8.  Professional   service    3.4  11.9 

9.  Public  service    2.3                   0.3 

All    occupations    100.0  100.0 

If  the  Norwegians  were  just  typical  Americans  the  above 
percentages  could  be  applied  to  them.    Thus,  29.8  per  cent  of  the 


352  Norwegian  People  in  America 

men  would  be  on  the  farm;  12.7  of  the  women.  But  they  are 
not  typical  in  many  respects.  Nearly  one-half  of  them  are  on 
the  farm,  and  in  that  regard  they  are  not  typical,  for  only  29.8 
per  cent  of  the  breadwinners  of  the  whole  country  are  engaged 
in  farming.  The  following  is  an  estimate  of  the  per  cent  and 
sex  of  the  Norwegians  who  work  for  a  living. 


PER  CENT  AND  SEX  OF  OCCUPIED  NORWEGIANS,  1920 


No 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 
9 


Occupation 
Agriculture,   forestry,  animal  husbandry   . 

Mining    

Manufacturing  and   mechanical  pursuits 

Transportation     

Trade    

Domestic  and  personal   service    5.0 

Clerical    service    , 

Professional   service    

Public   service    , 


Per  cent 
male 

Per  cent 

female 

45-0 

5.8 

1.0 

0.0 

250 

20.0 

5-5 

2.0 

10.0 

5-0 

5-0 

35-0 

4.0 

20.0 

3-5 

12.0 

1.0 

0.2 

All    occupations    100.0  100.0 

Applying  these  percentages  to  the  Norwegians  in  1925,  we  can 
arrive  at  a  fair  estimate  of  the  number  of  men  and  women  of 
Norwegian  blood  engaged  in  gainful  occupations,  to  wit : 

NUMBER  AND  SEX  OF  OCCUPIED  NORWEGIANS,  1925 

Men        Women 
No.  Occupation  at  work     at  work      Total 

1.  Agriculture,    forestry,   animal   husbandry  351,000  11,310  362,310 

2.  Mining    7,800            7,800 

3.  Manufacturing  and   mechanical   pursuits  195,000  39,000  234,000 

4.  Transportation    42,900  3,900  46,800 

5.  Trade     78,000  9,750  87,750 

6.  Domestic  and  personal  service   39,000  68,250  107,250 

7.  Clerical    service    31,200  39,ooo  70,200 

8.  Pofessional  service   27,300  23,400  50,700 

9.  Public    service    7,8oo  390  8,190 

All   occupations    780,000       195,000      975,000 

The  Norwegians  in  America  in  1925  are  nearly  as  strong 
numerically  as  the  state  of  Minnesota.  On  that  account  it  will 
be  profitable  to  compare  the  estimated  distribution  of  workers 
among  the  Norwegians  with  the  actual  occupational  distribution 
in  the  state  of  Minnesota  in  1920. 


The  American  Period  353 

NORWEGIANS   AND   MINNESOTANS   COMPARED 

No.  Occupation  Minnesotans  Norwegians 

Male        Female         Male        Female 

Total   population 1,245,537     1,141,588     1,250,000     1,250,000 

Population  10  years  and  over  . .        986,877        890,255        975,ooo       975,ooo 

1.  Agriculture,     forestry,     ani- 
mal   husbandry     298,258  9,618        351,000  11,310 

2.  Mining     14,975  19  7,800  

3.  Manufacturing       and       me- 
chanical   pursuits    180,607         23,395        195,000         39,ooo 

4.  Transportation     64,977  5,315  42,900  3,900 

5.  Trade    87,761  16,670         78,000  9,75o 

6.  Domestic       and        personal 

service    25,482  44,638  39,ooo  68,250 

7.  Clerical    service    35,36o  32,842  31,200  39,000 

8.  Professional   service    24,307  31,175  27,300  23,400 

9.  Public    service     11,220  554  7,800  390 

All  occupations   742,947        164,226       780,000       195,000 

Each  of  the  general  groups  of  occupations  has  many  sub- 
divisions. Agriculture,  for  example,  in  the  1920  Census  was  sub- 
divided into  46  divisions  and  subdivisions.  Fishing  was  classified 
under  farming.  Mining  had  19  groups.  Manufacturing  and 
mechanical  pursuits  had  290  groups  ;  transportation,  77 ;  trade,  96 ; 
domestic  and  personal  service.  47;  clerical  service,  15;  professional 
service,  52;  and  public  service,  23  classes.  Thus  under  Profes- 
sional Service  the  actors  and  showmen  are  by  themselves,  the 
architects,  artists,  authors  and  editors,  chemists,  clergymen,  col- 
lege presidents  and  professors,  other  teachers,  dentists,  designers, 
draftsmen,  inventors,  lawyers,  judges,  justices,  musicians,  osteo- 
paths, physicians  and  surgeons,  veterinary  surgeons,  trained 
nurses,  photographers,  technical  engineers  (civil,  electrical,  me- 
chanical and  mining),  are  each  by  themselves.  Also  various  other 
professional  and  semi-professional  services  are  marked  off  into 
special  classes.  There  are  Norwegians  in  every  one  of  these  oc- 
cupations. Little  by  little  they  are  becoming  more  and  more  like 
the  typical  American.  They  are  entering  all  the  vocations  and 
professions.  The  Norwegians  number  now  about  2  per  cent  of 
the  population  of  the  United  States.  Except  in  farming,  a  man 
can  strike  a  pretty  good  estimate  of  how  many  Norwegians  are 
engaged  in  any  particular  line  of  work,  by  finding  the  census 
figures  as  to  the  number  of  workers  engaged  in  that  field  and 
then  multiplying  by  2  per  cent.  The  answer  will  be  the  number 
of  Norwegians  engaged  in  that  field.  Thus,  how  many  Nor- 
wegians are  in  the  ministry?  The  Census  for  1920  says  there 
were    127,270  clergymen   in   the   United   States.    2   per   cent   of 


354 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Corn  Production  in  1909 


Wheat  Production  in  1909 


The  Norwegians  Live  in  the  Food  Producing  Belt 
They  Head  the  List  as  Farmers 

(From   "Statistical  Atlas   of    the    United   States:    1914") 


The  American  Period 


355 


127,270  is  2,545.  The  Norwegian  Lutherans  had  1,554  clergy- 
men in  1921,  and  there  were  many  Norwegian  pastors  in  the 
Reformed  denominations.  2  per  cent  of  the  physicians  is  2,900 — 
hence,  2,900  Norwegian  doctors  in  America.  2  per  cent  of  the 
civil  engineers  is  1,292— about  1.292  Norwegian  civil  engineers. 
And  so  on  down  the  whole  list  of  occupations. 

It  would  be  pleasant  and  profitable  to  make  a  study  of  any  of 
these  groups  of  workers.  The  present  writer  has  made  such 
studies  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  pastors — see  "Norsk  Luther- 
ske  Prester  i  Amerika,  1843-1915,"  a  Who's  Who  of  1,929  pastors 
in  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  synods.  He  has  also  made  a  similar 
book  about  the  teachers  in  the  higher  schools  of  these  synods — 


tHon.  Osmund  J.  Wing      Anton   E.  Anderson  tFingar  G.   Enger 

Successful  Farmers,  Generous  Givers,  Influential  Citizens 

the  "School  Calendar,  1824-1924."  a  Who's  Who  of  3,600  teach- 
ers. Hans  Jervell  has  written  a  few  small  books  about  the  farmers 
of  North  Dakota — "North  Dakota,"  and  "Nordmaend  og  Norsk'e 
Hjem  i  Amerika."  Jervell  has  also  published  a  book  written  by  T. 
A.  Hoverstad  entitled  "The  Norwegian  Farmers  of  the  United 
States."  These  books  are  very  inspirational,  but  altogether  too 
brief.  Now,  will  some  one  write  about  the  fishers  and  miners,  the 
manufacturers  and  artisans,  the  transportation  by  water  and  by 
land,  the  bankers  and  storekeepers,  the  doctors  and  lawyers,  the 
artists  and  musicians,  and  so  forth?  A  study  of  the  lives  of  these 
men  in  the  many  occupations  will  make  us  appreciate  what  they 
have  done  in  the  making  of  America. 

8.  Churches,  1890-1925 

The  Church  is  still  the  most  conservative,  as  it  is  also  the 
most  inspiring,  influence  in  the  world.  The  Norwegian  Lutheran 
Church,  including  all  its  branches,  has  been  the  strongest  spokes- 
man and  the  hardest  worker  in  the  matter  of  preserving  the  Nor- 
wegian language  and  culture  among  the  Norwegians  in  America, 


Hans  Gerhard  Stub 


The  American  Period 


357 


and  yet,  in  spite  of  the  weighty  influence  and  earnest  labor  of  the 
Church,  the  Norwegian  people  in  America  during  this  period  have 
been  dropping  the  use  of  Norwegian  to  such  an  alarming  extent 
that  about  50  per  cent  of  them  do  not  even  understand  the  spoken 
language.  Many  erstwhile  Norwegian  congregations  have  passed 
over  to  the  exclusive  use  of  English. 

In  "Religious  Bodies :  1906,"  a  United  States  Census  report, 
the  Norwegian  synods  had  only  21  English  congregations  out  of 
a  total  of  2,639,  less  than  one  per  cent  using  English  only;  but 
674,  or  25  per  cent,  used  both  English  and  Norwegian.  In  "Reli- 
gious Bodies:  1916,"  the  Norwegian  synods  had  advanced  to  200 
congregations  using  English  only.   200  out  of  3,161  is  6.3  per  cent; 


Bethlehem 


Illustrating  the  Growth  of  Congregations 

1,598,  or  over  50  per  cent,  were  bilingual  at  public  services.  The 
progress  toward  English  can  be  summarized  in  the  following 
table : 

ENGLISH  IN  THE  NORWEGIAN  LUTHERAN   SYNODS 
Church   work  1905  1910  1915  1920  1924 

Sermons     5%  13%  22%  34%  47% 

Catechizations 18%  27%  27%  49%  73% 

Sunday  School  pupils    ...     17%  21%  27%  75%  89% 

This  rapid  departure  from  the  bi-lingual  standard  to  the  use 
of  English  only  is  one  of  many  proofs  that  the  Norwegian  people 
are  fast  becoming  Americanized,  and  that  this  period  can  be  called 
the  American  Period  of  their  story.  In  reality  they  are  much 
more  Americanized  in  language  and  sentiments  than  these  church 
statistics  show.  The  large  number  of  nominal  Lutherans  who 
do  not  belong  to  any  congregation  are  more  Americanized  as  a 
rule  than  the  church  members,  not  in  the  sense  of  being  better 
Americans,  but  in   the  sense  of   having   sloughed  off  their  best 


358 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Norwegian  culture.  The  homes,  the  schools,  the  street,  all  favor 
the  use  of  English  now.  Said  an  old  Norwegian  grandma  as  she 
was  down  town  shopping:  "Ay  tank  ay  gaa  to  de  movies  tode." 
Said  another  old  lady  at  her  side :  "Ja,  ve  do  dat,  end  dan  ve  gaa 
to  da  church  end  hev  aas  sahm  kafle."  Some  of  these  good  old 
dames  can  not  speak  English,  and  they  will  not  speak  Norwegian. 
It  is  the  American  Period. 

The  Norwegian  Lutheran  synods  trained  and  ordained  about 
1,700  new  ministers  of  the  Gospel  during  the  years   1891-1925. 
The  exact  figures  for  the  first  three  decades 
Pastors,  1890-1925       are  as  follows : 


ORDINATIONS,   1891-1900 


*5b 

>h  Wen   £c/)  ffiw 

1891 o     17  3 

1892 O       22  2 

1893 2     16  '  3 

1894 o     11  5 

1895 o     17  6 

1896 o     14  9 

1897 o     12  7 

1898 o     17  6 

1899 o      7  6 

1900 o 14 6_ 

1891-1900 2    147  53 

ORDINATIONS, 

1901 o     14  7 

1902 o     21  6 

1903 1     18  9 

1904 1     10  4 

1905 o     14  11 

1906 o     21  4 

1907 o     14  12 

1908 o     19  5 

1909 o     18  II 

1910 1 16 6^ 

1901-1910 3    165  75 

ORDINATIONS, 

1911 o     12  9 

1912 o     20  9 

1913 o     11  7 

I9H o     13  4 

1915 o     16  3 

1916 1 10 6 

1911-1916 1     82  38 


?1  <-> 

Pu 

29 

19 
23 
13 
10 
26 
14 
16 
15 
19 


u 

u 

(U  w 


2 
2 

II 

9 
8 

12 
8 


-Ipq 


o 
H 

49 
43 
46 
31 

41 
60 
42 
47 
41 
47 


184 

1901-1910 

17 
15 
22 
16 
24 
3o 
23 
22 
22 
30 


60 


7 
S 

15 
12 
6 
3 
3 
9 
5 
6 


447 


45 
Si 
65 
43 
55 
58 
54 
56 
59 
60 


221 

1911-1916 
18 
20 
36 
30 
23 
32 


74 

6 
6 
11 
8 
9 
9 


546 


45 
58 
67 
56 
61 
61 


159 


49 


IS 


344 


The  American  Period 


359 


1917. 

1918. 

1919. 

1920. 

1917-1920. 


3  & 


c 

a 

"So 

%-* 
L  ° 


§3 


5  c 
In  »- 

3   u 


7 
7 
7 
4 
25 


G 

bo  as 
a;  u 


o  B 


Wc/i    £c/i     ffic/3      PU      feU     Jpq      £h4 


35 

32 

32 

37 

136 


ex 


o  46 

o  41 

o  40 

o  43 

o  170 


The  building  of  new  congregations  during  this  period  almost 
kept  pace  with  the  planting  of  new  settlements.   The  United  Nor- 
wegian  Church   at   its   first  meeting   issued   a 
Congregations,  protest  to  the  Reformed  denominations  against 

1890-1925  their  proselyting,   and   organized   itself   to   do 

vigorous  home  mission  work.  It  appointed 
able  secretaries  and  superintendents  and  aimed  to  send  out  into 
the  new  fields  every  year  the  best  pick  from  its  seminary.  The 
home  mission  superintendents  were:  N.  J.  Ellestad,   1891-1900; 


GROWTH  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  LUTHERAN  CHURCH 

(Figures   indicate  number   of   congregation  by   decades) 


1916 


1850     I860       1870  1880  1890  1900  iQlO 

JBmo-M.  Kflmrfhtr  436mgMr  I436mdhtr       2629  mdhu  3634  mrth+r  5566  mrfhtr  6J64  men idhete  r. 


H.  C.  Holm,  1900-1906;  O.  Glaso'e,  1906-1914;  and  G.  A.  Lar- 
sen,  1914-1917.  The  other  synods  were  also  up  and  doing  and 
in  many  places  outdistanced  the  United  Church  in  the  race.  Then 
came  the  World  War  and  the  merger  of  three  of  the  synods  in 
1917 — the  Hauge  Synod,  the  Norwegian  Synod  and  the  United 
Church  becoming  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church.    On  account 


360  Norwegian  People  in  America 

of  financial  straits  accompanying  the  War  the  synods  have  been 
forced  to  adopt  a  policy  of  retrenchment,  and  fewer  congregations 
have  therefore  been  established.  Due  to  the  merger  of  the  three 
synods  into  a  new  synod,  there  have  been  similar  mergers  of  com- 
peting congregations.  At  least  130  such  congregational  mergers 
have  been  recorded  by  Secretary  N.  J.  Lp'hre  of  the  Norwegian 
Lutheran  Church. 

From  1825  to  1916  a  total  of  6,764  congregations  and  preach- 
ing places  were  established  by  the  Norwegian  Lutherans — 5,811 
congregations  and  953  preaching  places.  The  total  for  the  century 
no  doubt  reached  the  7,500  mark.  About  one-half  of  these  are 
still  maintained.  A  comparison  of  the  three  periods  shows  that 
the  church  work  of  the  third  period  is  by  no  means  to  be  de- 
spised : 

CONGREGATIONAL  GROWTH 

*  *  E        *%  c  ^ 

tn  tWO  .5  .£    <n  O    qj 

o  °o  o^  o-5  2  -fo  ^ 

1825-1860 38  157  12  169  4-5 

1860-1890 614  2282  178  2460  4.0 


1890-1916. . . 

1916-1925... 

; ! \  Est. 

1337 
363 

3372 
439 

763 
297 

4135 
736 

3-1 
2.0 

1890-1925... 

. . .  Est. 

1700 

381 1 

1060 

4871 

2.8 

1825-1925 Est.        2352  6250  1250  7500  3.2 

A  few  attempts  have  been  made  to  tell  the  story  of  the  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  congregations.  Considerable  information  about 
the  congregations  are  found  in  the  various  county  histories  of  the 
Northwest.  Individual  congregations  are  briefly  sketched  in 
several  of  the  narratives  about  the  Norwegian  people  in  America, 
as,  for  example,  in  A.  E.  Strand's  "History  of  the  Norwegians 
in  Illinois"  (1905)  and  E.  M.  Stensrud's  "Lutheran  Church  and 
California"  (1916).  "Norske  Settlementer  og  Menigheter  i  Ben- 
ton, Sherburne  og  Mille  Lacs  Countier"  (1903),  by  P.  Langseth, 
A.  Larsgaard  and  R.  J.  Meland,  is  a  brief  account  of  these  three 
Minnesota  counties.  The  most  exhaustive  survey  of  the  congre- 
gations is,  outside  of  the  annual  reports  of  the  synods,  the  two 
volume  work  entitled  "Norsk  Lutherske  Menigheter  i  Amerika, 
1843-1916"  (2,212  pages).  It  was  compiled  and  edited  by  O.  M. 
Norlie,  assisted  by  T.  O.  Tolo,  D.  Kvaase,  K.  A.  Kasberg,  C.  M. 
Hallanger,  E.  M.  Stensrud,  L.  C.  Jacobson,  A.  M.  Arntzen,  A.  L. 
Wiek  and  L.  Lillehei.  It  is  based  on  first-hand  information  ob- 
tained by  means  of  questionnaires,  correspondence,  visitations,  an- 


The  American  Period 


36i 


nual  reports,  etc.  The  editor  mailed  out  50,700  letters  of  inquiry 
in  compiling  the  material.  A  number  of  the  older  congregations 
have  celebrated  their  25th,  50th,  60th,  75th,  or  80th  anniversary, 
and  some  of  them  have  published  souvenirs  in  honor  of  the  event. 
A  list  of  representative  souvenirs  is  printed  in  the  Appendix. 

Four  new  Norwegian  Lutheran  synods  came  into  being  during 

this  period — The  Lutheran  Free  Church,  The  Lutheran  Brethren, 

The  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  of  America, 

Synods,  1890-1925        and  The  Norwegian  Synod  of  the  American 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Church. 


The   Joint   Norwegian   Syno 
(Standing,  from  left  to  right:  J 
O.  G.  U.  Siljan,  I.  D. 
G.    Rasmussen,   M.    H 


—United    Church 
E.  J0rgensen,  P. 


Union    Committee 
Tangjerd,  R.  Malmin, 


Boe,  G.  T.  Lee, 
Siljan   host,   not 


Ylvisaker,  S.  Gunderson,  N.   N. 
Hegge,    J.    Nordby,    H.    Engh. 
a  member). 

a.  The  Lutheran  Free  Church 
From  1893  to  1897  this  body  was  known  as  the  Friends  of 
Augsburg.  Augsburg  Seminary,  founded  in  1869,  became  the 
seminary  of  the  Conference,  1870-1890,  and  of  the  United  Nor- 
wegian Church  in  the  1890  merger.  Now  there  was,  as  related 
before,  within  the  Conference  two  factions,  not  disagreeing  on 
points  of  doctrine,  but  rather  as  to  the  aims  in  the  education  of 
the  ministry  and  the  anatomy  of  the  local  congregation.  The 
controversy  was  carried  into  the  United  Church,  in  the  effort  of 
the  United  Church  to  obtain  control  of  Augsburg  Seminary.  The 
controversy  finally  resulted  in  the  expulsion  in  1893  of  a  number 


362 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


{Copyright,  Harris  &  Ewing)        a.  E.  Lee,  S.  D.  C.  N.  Herreid,  S.  D. 

Knute  Nelson,  Minn.  1896-00  1900-04 

1892-95 
of  congregations  and  pastors  who  took  sides  with  Professors  Ofte- 
dal  and  Sverdrup,  the  leaders  of  the  minority  fight.  The  expelled 
congregations  and  pastors  called  themselves  the  Friends  of  Augs- 
burg, and  since  1897  they  have  borne  the  name  the  Lutheran 
Free  Church.  Augsburg  Seminary  is  their  theological  school. 
"Folkebladet"  is  their  church  organ.  Their  slogan  is  congrega- 
tional polity  and  the  free  congregation,  hence  the  name  Free 
Church.  The  Free  Church  is  active  in  publication,  education,  for- 
eign missions,  home  missions  and  charity  work.  Rev.  E.  E.  Gynild, 
Willmar,  Minnesota,  is  the  present  president;  Rev.  Johan  Matt- 
son,  Minneapolis,  secretary;  Rev.  J.  H.  Blegen,  Minneapolis, 
treasurer. 

b.  The  Lutheran  Brethren- 
The  Lutheran  Brethren,  known  also  as  the  Church  of  the 
Lutheran  Brethren,  was  organized  in  Milwaukee,  1900,  with  five 
congregations  as  a  nucleus.  The  members  of  this  synod  felt  that 
they  could  not  enter  any  of  the  other  Norwegian  bodies,  owing 
to  disapproval  of  their  practice  in  the  acceptance  of  new  members, 


J.  O.  Davidson,  Wis 
1906-11 


{Copyright,  Harris  &  Ewing)       JQ\m    J.    Blaine,    Wis. 

Peter  Norbeck,  S.  D.  1921 — 

1917-21 
State  Governors  of  Norwegian  Parentage 


The  American  Period 


363 


R.  A.  Nestos,  N.  D.  {Copyright,  Lee  Bros.)  Theodore    Christianson, 

1921-25  J.  A.  O.  Preus,  Minn.  Minn.     1925 — 

1921-25 

church  discipline,  confirmation  and  a  few  other  matters.  Only  be- 
lievers are  admitted  as  members  of  Lutheran  Brethren  congrega- 
tions and  they  are  in  theory  allowed  to  remain  only  as  long  as  their 
life  and  conduct  are  in  accordance  with  this  Christian  profession. 
Church  discipline  is  rigidly  enforced.  In  1903,  the  Lutheran 
Brethren  built  their  first  and  only  school — the  Lutheran  Bible 
School,  located  at  Wahpeton,  N.  D.,   1903-1918, ,  Grand  Forks, 

North  Dakota,  1918 .    Rev.  E.  M.  Broen  has  been  president 

of  this  school  since  its  beginning.  The  synod  has  never  been 
large  in  numbers — in  1919,  only  10  pastors  serving  27  small  con- 
gregations. But  it  is  extraordinarily  plucky  and  active.  In  1925 
six  of  its  27  ordained  workmen  are  on  the  foreign  mission  fields 
— in  China  and  West  Africa.  There  is  probably  no  church  body 
in  America  that  gives  more  per  capita  to  the  support  of  synodical 
enterprises  than  this  little  synod.  In  1907  the  individual  con- 
tributions of  the  Lutheran  Brethren  averaged  $35.76  per  baptized 
member;  in  1916,  $34.00  per  head;  in  1919,  $40.00.  The  church 
organ  is  "Broderbaandet,"  edited  by  R.  S.  Gjerde.  The  president 
is  Rev.  Erik  H.  Gunhus,   Minneapolis.    M.  E.   Sletta,   Coopers- 


John  E.  Erickson,  Mont.  Carl  Gunderson,  S.  D.    Arthur  G.  Sorlie   N.  D. 

1925—  1925—  1925— 

State  Governors  of  Norzvegian  Parentage 


364 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


town,   North  Dakota,  is  vice  president;   G.   Stenolen,   Mayville, 
North  Dakota,  is  secretary;  Otto  Rood,  Minneapolis,  is  treasurer. 

c.  The  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  of  America 

The  movement  so  auspiciously  begun  in  1890  toward  union 
of  different  Lutheran  synods,  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the 
Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  of  America,  June  9,  1917.  In  1905 
the  Hauge  Synod  took  up  the  question  of  union.  The  Norwegian 
Synod  and  the  United  Church  responded  cordially;  the  Lutheran 
Free  Church  expressed  its  sympathy,  but,  on  account  of  its  polity, 
could  not  as  a  body  enter  the  proposed  union.  Committees  were 
appointed  which,  during  the  years   1905-1912,  met- and  came  to 


G.  Smedal 
Sec'y.  Pensions 


H.  B.  Kildahl 

Sec'y,  Charities 


L.  A.  Vigness 
Sec'y,  Education 


doctrinal  agreement  on  the  questions  which  had  separated  them — 
absolution  and  lay  preaching  (1906),  the  call  and  conversion 
(1908),  and  predestination  (1912).  These  Committees  were  made 
up  of  the  presidents  of  the  respective  synods  and  their  theological 
faculties.  These  committees  laid  the  foundation  for  the  new  work 
of  the  new  committees  which  in  1912  crowned  the  work  of  nego- 
tiation. On  February  22,  1912,  the  Norwegian  Synod  and  United 
Church  union  committees  held  a  joint  session  at  Madison,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  came  to  agreement  on  predestination.  The  news  of  the 
Madison  Agreement  was  almost  too  good  to  be  true.  Men 
doubted  it.  A  strong  minority  in  the  Norwegian  Synod,  under 
the  leadership  of  C.  K.  Preus  and  I.  B.  Torrison,  demanded  cer- 
tain additions  and  footnotes  to  the  pacificatory  document.  Their 
request  was  granted  in  the  sorcalled  Austin  Agreement,  made  at 
Austin,  Minnesota,  1917.  There  was  a  strong  minority  also  in 
the  Hauge  Synod,  but  through  the  efforts  of  M.  O.  Wee  and  others 
this  minority  was  won  over  for  the  union,  after  their  reason- 
able doubts  had  been  removed  and  their  requests  had  been  satis- 
factorily met.  At  this,  practically  everybody  was  satisfied  that 
doctrinal  agreement  had  been  reached,  and  steps  were  taken  to 


The  American  Period 


365 


unite  the  Norwegian  Synod,  the  Hauge  Synod  and  the  United 
Church.  This  being  the  Ouadri-centennial  year  of  the  Refor- 
mation (1517-1917),  men  thought  a  good  deal  about  a  united 
Lutherdom  and  longed  for  the  union  of  the  Norwegian  church 
bodies.  At  the  time  of  the  union  the  Hauge  Synod  had  120 
pastors  serving  congregations ;  the  Norwegian  Synod  had  355 ; 
the  United  Church  had  556;  a  total  of  1,031.  Hauge  had  389 
congregations;  the  Norwegian  Synod  had  1,119;  the  United 
Church  had  1,799;  a  total  of  3,307.  Hauge  had  a  membership 
of  39,737;  the  Norwegian  Synod  had  150,455;  the  United 
Church  had  280,668;  a  total  of  470,860.  A  small  handful  of 
pastors  thought  the  union  too  hasty,  and  therefore  did  not  join 
the   new   body.     Then   came   the   War ;   hard  times   and   general 


G.  A.  Gullixson  Erik  H.  Gunhus  S.   M.   Stenby 

(Norw.)  (Brethren)  (Eielsen) 

Presidents  of  smaller  Synods 

discontent  everywhere.  Still,  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  has 
easily  weathered  the  storms,  though  tested  in  every  beam  and 
seam. 

The  present  officers  are:  Dr.  H.  G.  Stub,  president;  Dr.  J. 
A.  Aasgaard,  vice  president;  Rev.  N.  J.  Lolire,  secretary;  Mr. 
Erik  Waldeland,  treasurer.  The  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  is 
divided  geographically  into  nine  districts  and  it  has,  in  addition, 
an  English  Association,  which  is  ranked  with  the  districts.  The 
presidents  of  these  divisions  are :  Rev.  J.  Nordby,  Eastern  Dis- 
trict; Rev.  I.  T.  Aastad,  Northern  Minnesota;  Rev.  C.  J.  East- 
void,  Southern  Minnesota;  Rev.  H.  C.  Holm,  Iowa;  Rev.  N.  Bo'e, 
South  Dakota;  Rev.  I.  D.  Ylvisaker,  North  Dakota;  Rev.  A.  M. 
Skindlov,  Rocky  Mountain;  Rev.  J.  A.  E.  Naess,  Pacific;  Rev. 
J.  J.  Akre,  Canada  District;  Dr.  G.  A.  T.  Rygh,  English  As- 
sociation. The  Norwegian  Church  is  provided  with  good  working 
boards,  committees  and  societies.  The  secretaries  of  the  main 
boards  are  as  follows:  Olaf  Lysnes,  Publication;  Olaf  Guldseth, 
Book  Mission ;  Dr.  Jacob  Tanner,  Elementary  Christian  Educa- 
tion; L.  A.  Vigness,  Education   (Higher);  H.   M.  Saeterlie  and 


366  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Dr.  J.  R.  Birkelund,  Foreign  Missions;  C.  S.  B.  Hoel,  Home  Mis- 
sions; H.  B.  Kildahl,  Charities;  G.  Smedal,  Pensions;  M.  E. 
Waldeland,  Transportation;  Joseph  Estrem  and  H.  O.  Shurson, 
Trustees.  Luther  aner  en,  edited  by  Dr.  Jacob  Tanner  and  Rev. 
Rasmus  Malmin,  is  the  Norwegian  organ  of  this  body,  and 
Lutheran  Church  Herald,  edited  by  Rev.  G.  T.  Lee,  is  the  English 
official  organ.  "Teologisk  Tidsskrift"  (R.  Malmin,  editor)  is  a 
theological  magazine;  "Our  Young  People"  (John  Peterson, 
editor)  is  a  paper  for  youth.  The  budget  for  synodical  expenses 
amounts  to  about  $1,500,000.00  a  year. 

d.    The  Norwegian  Synod  of  the  American  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church 

This  synod  was  organized  in  1918  by  those  pastors  and  con- 
gregations that,  on  account  of  conscientious  scruples  or  for  other 
reasons,  did  not  want  to  join  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church. 
They  maintain  that  the  Madison  Agreement  and  the  merger  were 
too  hasty,  and  that  indifferentism,  unionism  and  hierarchy  prevail 
in  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church.  Their  aim  is  to  defend  and 
to  desseminate  the  old  truths  as  they  see  them.  In  1922  they 
had  32  pastors,  46  congregations  and  6,737  souls.  They  have 
been  made  members  of  the  Synodical  Conference  and  make  use 
of  its  schools.  Rev.  B.  A.  Harstad,  of  Parkland,  Washington, 
was  the  first  president  of  the  Norwegian  Synod.  The  present 
incumbent  is  Rev.  George  Gullixson,  of  Chicago,  Illinois. 

Just  how  many   Norwegians   are   members   of   non-Lutheran 
bodies  no  one  can  at  present  say  for  sure.     Just  how  many  are 
worshipping  in  Norwegian  is  on  record  in  the 
Non-Lutheran  census   reports   and  in  the  annual  reports   of 

Bodies  these  organizations.     The  notices  in  the  census 

reports  are,  of  course,  very  inadequate,  all  too 
brief.  The  work  that  these  organizations  are  doing  is  in  many 
ways  pioneer  work  and  is  the  occasion  of  many  a  story  of  sacri- 
fice and  suffering.  Here  also  is  many  a  flower  that  blooms 
unseen. 


a.    United  States  Census,  1906 

The  following  table  shows  the  denominations  using  Norwe- 
gian in  their  church  services.  The  table  is  found  in  "Religious 
Bodies,  1906." 


The  American  Period  367 

DENOMINATIONS   USING"  NORWEGIAN 

Communicant 
Denominations  Congregations         Membership 

Adventist    14  374 

Baptist     41  1,889 

Brethren    1  26 

Congregationalist  9  790 

Disciples    1  58 

Independent    16  1,072 

Methodist    125  7,032 

Presbyterian     2  36 

Quaker    4  246 

Salvationist    4  120 

Swedish  Mission   3  42 

Theosophical    1  27 

Unitarian    4  452 

Total  Non-Lutheran   225  12,164 

Missouri   Synod 1  80 

United  Norwegian  1,133  180,566 

Hauge  Synod   256  Z2-^-!! 

Eielsen  Synod   25  983 

Norwegian  Synod    875  104,556 

Lutheran  Free  Church 319  26,864 

Lutheran   Brethren    16  482 

Total  Lutheran   2,625  345,8o8 

Grand  Total  2,850  357,972 

This  table  shows  that  in  1906  there  were  2,849  congregations 
that  reported  that  they  were  working  among  the  Norwegians, 
that  79  per  cent  of  these  congregations  were  non-Lutheran,  and 
92.1  per  cent  were  Lutheran.  It  shows  furthermore  that  these 
congregations  were  caring  for  357,892  Norwegians  holding  com- 
municant membership,  of  which  96.6  per  cent  was  Lutheran, 
3.4  per  cent  was  not.  The  communicant  membership  is  about 
60  per  cent  of  the  baptized  membership. 

b.    United  States  Census,  1916 
In  "Religious  Bodies:  1916"  the  situation  is  as  follows: 

DENOMINATIONS   USING  NORWEGIAN 

Communicant 

Denominations                       Congregations  Membership 

Adventist    22  863 

Assembly  of  God   1  300 

Baptist 39  1,799 

Brethren    2  20 

Congregational    12  614 

Independent   8  422 

Methodist   119  6,699 

Moravian    1  159 

Presbyterian    1  12 

Quaker 1  92 

Swedish  Mission 4  128 

Unitarian    2  400 

Total  Non-Lutheran  212  11,508 


368  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Communicant 

Denominations                    Congregations  Membership 

Hauge  Synod    263  23,221 

Norwegian  Synod   894  107,010 

United    Norwegian    1,371  171, 595 

Joint  Ohio  Synod   1  104 

Eielsen    Synod    19  1,163 

Immanuel  Synod    1  80 

Lutheran  Free  Church   356  27,011 

Apostolic   Finnish    1  275 

Lutheran   Brethren    20  850 

Total    Lutheran     2,926  331,309 

Grand  Total   3,138  342,817 

This  table  shows  that  in  1916  there  were  3,137  congregations 
using  the  Norwegian  language;  225,  or  6.7  per  cent,  were  Non- 
Lutheran  and  2,925,  or  93.3  per  cent  were  Lutheran.  Of  the 
communicant  members  96.7  were  Lutherans,  3.3  per  cent  were 
Non-Lutherans. 

c.    Canadian  Census,  1921 

In  Canada  a  religious  census  is  taken  at  every  regular  census. 
Each  man  is  asked  what  church  he  belongs  to  or  prefers.  The 
results  of  this  kind  of  census  taking  is  as  follows: 

CANADA  RELIGIOUS  CENSUS 

Church  Per  cent 

Year                      Population          Membership  Unspecified  Members 

1 891 4,833,239               4,752,972               80,267  98.3 

1 901 5,37i,3i5                5^28,093                43,222  99.2 

191 1 7,206,643                7,174,490               32,390  99-5 

1 921 8,788,483                8,769,129                19,354  99.8 

From  this  table  we  see  that  practically  everybody  in  Canada 
reckons  himself  an  adherent,  if  not  a  member,  of  some  Christian 
Church. 

Now,  with  regard  to  the  Lutherans  of  Canada  there  is  a 
great  discrepancy  between  the  census  returns  and  the  returns 
made  by  the  Lutheran  synods.  G.  L.  Kieffer  has  shown  that  the 
census  figures  are  more  than  four  times  as  large  as  the  member- 
ship lists  of  the  congregations.  That  is  to  say,  there  are  many 
Lutherans  in  Canada  who  have  come  from  Lutheran  lands  and 
homes  and  regard  themselves  as  Lutherans,  but  they  have  not 
joined  any  Lutheran  congregation  as  yet. 

The  same  condition  no  doubt  holds  good  here.  Of  the 
2,500,000  Norwegians  in  the  United  States,  nearly  all  of  them 
might  reasonably  be  supposed  to  want  to  be  called  adherents  of 
the  Lutheran  faith,  but  barely  500,000  are  members  of  Lutheran 


The  American  Period  369 

congregations  in  1925.  Possibly  four  times  that  number  would 
be  classified  as  Lutherans  if  the  United  States  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  Canada  and  found  out  from  each  man  at  the  census 
taking  what  religion  he  confessed.  The  religious  census  of  the 
United  States  makes  inquiry  only  into  the  communicant  member- 
ship of  the  congregations.  This  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
table : 

UNITED   STATES  RELIGIOUS  CENSUS 

Church  Per  cent 

Year  Population  Membership  Unchurched  Members 

1890 62,947,714  20,612,806  42,334,908  32.7 

1900 75,994,575  27,700,804  48,293,771  36.4 

1006 84,562,000  32,936,445  51,625,555  38.9 

1910 91,972,266  34,517,877  57,454,389  37-5 

1916 102,431,000  41,936,854  60,494,146  40.9 

1920 105,710,620  42,140,897  63,569,723  39-8 

The  figures  for  1900  are  from  the  "Independent" ;  those  for 
1910  and  1920  have  been  compiled  by  H.  K.  Carroll;  those  for 
1890,  1906  and  1916  are  from  the  Federal  Census.  They  all  show 
that  less  than  one-half  of  the  population  in  the  United  States  as 
listed  on  the  books  of  the  congregations.  But  the  situation  here 
is  no  doubt  similar  to  that  in  Canada,  namely,  that  if  a  census 
were  taken  of  the  faith  of  the  individuals  nearly  everybody  would 
belong  to  some  denomination.  In  that  event  the  number  of  Nor- 
wegian Lutherans  would  be  much  increased,  possibly  to  2,000,000. 

d.  Baptists 

Concerning  the  Norwegian  Baptists  Dr.  Henrik  Gundersen 
writes :  "There  are  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  30  Norwegian 
churches  with  a  membership  aggregating  about  2,000  members 
having  the  right  to  vote.  But  this  number  does  not  give  the  real 
number  of  Norwegian  Baptists,  as  we  confidently  assume  that 
there  are  just  as  many  Norwegian  Baptists  in  the  American 
churches  as  those  who  belong  to  churches  of  the  Norwegian  Con- 
ference. Instances  have  occurred  where  whole  churches,  having 
been  so  much  Americanized  that  they  found  it  to  their  advantage 
to  reorganize  themselves  as  American  churches.  The  Norwegian 
Baptists  belonging  to  the  General  Conference  contribute  to  their 
own  local  work  about  $30,000.00  per  year,  and  more  than 
$20,000.00  for  missions  and  benevolence.  They  have  church  prop- 
erty valued  at  $152,000.00  with  a  debt  of  $10,000.00.  In  the  Sun- 
day Schools  there  are  enrolled  1,500  children  with  180  teachers. 
The  Conference  publishes  a  weekly  paper,  'Missionaeren/  and 
there  is  a  book  store  conducted  by  the  Conference  at  3232  W. 
Wrightwood  Avenue,  Chicago.  The  Conference  officers  are :  Rev. 
O.  Larson,  Minneapolis,  president;  Rev.  J.  Rovik-Larson,  Eau 


370  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Claire,  vice  president;  Rev.  T.  Knudsen,  La  Crosse,  treasurer 
and  secretary;  Rev.  O.  Breding,  Minneapolis,  general  missionary. 
Among  ministers  who  should  be  remembered  for  efficient  work 
are :  J.  B.  Smith,  N.  K.  Larson,  C.  W.  Finwall,  L.  J.  Anderson." 
As  an  illustration  of  what  up-hill  work  it  is  to  start  a  Baptist 
congregation  among  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  let  us  take  the 
case  of  the  Norwegian  Baptist  congregation  at  Decorah,  as  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  N.  S.  Lawdahl  in  his  book,  "De  Danske  Baptisters 
Historie  i  Amerika."  At  the  conference  meeting  held  at  Newell 
in  1896  this  thought  was  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the  Baptists : 
"Iowa's  60,000  Norwegians  for  Christ."  A  missionary  was  chosen, 
Brother  L.  J.  Andersen,  of  North  Dakota,  and  the  field  was  as- 
signed, Decorah,  the  seat  of  Luther  College,  the  capital  city  of 
the  Norwegian  Synod,  the  most  stalwart  of  the  Norwegian  Lu- 
theran synods.  Andersen  came  and  worked  with  zeal.  There  were 
six  Norwegians  in  Decorah  who  had  already  joined  the  American 
Baptist  congregation  in  town.  These  six,  together  with  Anderson 
and  wife,  organized  the  Norwegian  Baptist  Congregation  of 
Decorah  in  February,  1897.  Andersen  labored  here  three  years 
and  baptized  four  adult  converts.  In  1900  Brother  Anderson 
reports  that  "God  had  given  him  also  four  souls  in  Calmar."  He 
relates  that  he  had  tried  to  get  an  entrance  into  the  territory 
of  Glenwood,  eight  miles  east  of  Decorah,  and  complains :  "The 
doors  and  the  hearts  were  closed  against  us,  so  that  we  scarcely 
got  shelter  on  New  Year's  eve  at  9:15  p.  m."  Martin  Nielsen 
relieved  Andersen  in  1901,  but  met  with  the  same  hardness  of 
heart.  With  tears  he  testified  before  his  conference  that  he  had 
been  denied  even  water  for  himself  and  his  beast  as  he  went 
from  farmstead  to  farmstead  witnessing  about  his  Master.  Niel- 
sen thought  it  was  best  to  leave  this  citadel  of  prejudice  and 
church  forms  to  its  fate.  It  were  better  to  go  to  the  heathen.  So, 
in  1903,  after  six  years  of  hard  labor  this  field  was  abandoned. 

e.    Methodists 
The  annual  report  for  1924  of  the  Norwegian-Danish  Meth- 
odist Conference  is  authority  for  the  information  herewith  pre- 
sented : 

METHODIST  PROGRESS 

Work  1880  1890  1900  19 10  1920 

Pastors     24  48  66                56  62 

Congregations    43  70  91                 94  81 

Members     2,266  3,902  4,640  4,984  5,356 

Sunday    School    Pupils  848  2,799  3,378  3,035  5,132 

The  value  of  churches  in  1924  was  $586,000.00  and  of  par- 
sonages, $181,200.00.  Salaries  for  1924  were  $62,151.00  and  gifts 
to  charity  amounted  to  $31,354,00.    Between  1880  and  1924  31 


The  American  Period 


371 


pastors  had  gone  to  their  reward.  Of  the  47  pastors  in  service 
in  1924  32  were  born  in  Norway,  6  in  Denmark,  2  in  Sweden 
and  7  in  America. 

The  first  Norwegian  Methodist  congregation  was  that  among 
the  Sloopers  at  Norway,  Illinois.  Harry  M.  Peterson,  the  pastor 
now  in  charge,  and  H.  T.  Haagensen,  Lutheran  pastor  at  Stav- 
anger,  Illinois,  have  furnished  the  following  roster  of  Methodist 
pastors  for  the  period  1860-1925. 


METHODIST  PASTORS,  NORWAY,  ILLINOIS 


Pastor  Term 

Carlson,    Erick    1860-1862 

Westergren,  W.  0 1862-1863 

Lindquist,  L 1863-1866 

Gundersen,  Ole    1865-1866 

Eckstrand,  John  H.   . . .  1866-1869 

Knutson,  J.  M 1869-1872 

Hanson,    C 1872-1873 

Jensen,  P 1873-1876 

Johanson,  B 1876-1877 

Sanaker,  Otto    1877- 1880 

Wierson,  O.  A 1880-1882 

Erickson,  F.  W 1882-1883 

Tollefson,   J.   C 1883-1885 

Hanson,   Eliot    1885-1886 

Munson,  H.  C 1886-1887 

Jacobson,  J.  A 1887-1888 

Erickson,  Andrew    ....  1888-1889 

Pedersen,  A.  C 1889-1891 


Term 
1891-1893 
1893- 1896 
1896-1897 
1 897- 1 898 
1 898- 1 902 
1902- 1903 


Pastor 

Danielson,    H 

Peterson,  J.  J 

Rosness,  A.  W.  . . . 

Johnson,  C.  J 

Hanson,  Carl  W.   . 
Josephsen,  C.  H. 

Hanson,  Carl  W 1903-1905 

Andersen,  Arnt   1905-1907 

Helliksen,  David 1907-1908 

Levin,   Richard    1908 

Hanson,    Carl   W 1008-1909 

Hofstad,  Ottar 1909-1912 

Bagne,  O.  J 1912-1916 

Firing,  O.  T 1916-1919 

Rohrsaff,  0 1919-1920 

Egeland,    M 1920-1922 

Pedersen,    C.   E 1922-1924 

Peterson,  Harry  M.  . . .   1924 


In  1859  a  church  was  built,  26x40  feet,  at  a  cost  of  $1,500.00. 
During  Sanaker's  pastorate  it  was  moved  to  Norway,  where  it 
now  stands,  remodeled.  An  addition  to  the  main  frame  was 
built  on:  also  a  tower. 


f.  Reformed  Influence 

The  influence  of  the  Reformed  denominations  is  no  doubt 
much  larger  than  the  statistics  of  their  church  work  in  Norwegian 
would  indicate.  When  Dr.  Frederick  Lynch  visited  Scandinavia 
in  1922  he  found  the  church  work  there  of  a  good  Lutheran  type 
and  wrote  in  the  "Christian  Work,"  of  which  he  is  editor,  that 
"Methodists  and  Baptists  are  looked  upon  as  interlopers,  and 
the  people  can  not  understand  why  they  have  come,  and  wonder 
why  America  sends  them  and  Adventist  and  Pentecostal  Brethren 
and  other  groups." 

It  is  a  part  of  history  to  record  how  these  two  large  and  dis- 
tinctive church  groups  have  lived  together  and  influenced  each 
other. 

The  Norwegian  Lutherans  believe  that  they  have  the  Christian 
religion  the  way  the  Bible  presents  it  in  its  truth  and   purity; 


372 


Nonvegian  People  in  America 


s 

fc\    >-| 

l  j"Sf2 

■  *  25kr"'9^f8aik  I 

Lutheran  Ladies'  Seminary,  Red  Wing,  Minn. 
1894-20 


T         T         T 

Some 

Norwegian 

Lutheran 

Academies 


Pacific  Academy,  Parkland,  Wash. 
O.  J.  Ordal,  President 


r      t      r 

You  May 
Bend  the 
Sapling, 
But  Not 
the  Tree 


Park  Region  Luther  College,  Fergus  Falls,  Minn. 
E.  Wulfsberg,  President 


The  American  Period 


373 


Some 

Norwegian 

Homes 

for  the 

Aged 


Aftenro  Old  People's  Home, 
Dulnth,  Minn. 


New  Building,  Homme  Old  People's  Home 
Wittenberg,    Wis. 


Cast  Me 

Not  Off 

in  the 

Time 

of  Old  Age 


Norwegian  Christian  Home  for  Aged 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


374  Norwegian  People  in  America 

they  therefore  resent  the  idea  that  the  Reformed  churches  should 
treat  them  as  a  foreign  mission  field  that  is  shrouded  in  dark- 
ness. In  its  report  for  1907  the  Norwegian-Danish  Conference 
does  not  deign  to  admit  that  the  Lutheran  churches  in  the  North- 
west can  take  care  of  the  Scandinavians.  There  were  7,773  Lu- 
theran congregations  here,  but  they  were  all  ignored  as  of  no 
account.  In  the  annual  minutes  of  the  Norwegian-Danish  Baptist 
Church  for  1908,  it  is  reported  that  they  have  300,000  people  of 
their  nationality  in  Minnesota.  The  report  reads :  "Theref ore  our 
privileges  are  great  and  our  responsibilities  stretch  equally  far. 
Others  do  not  know  our  people's  characteristics,  and,  therefore, 
we  must  win  them."  In  1921,  at  the  Baptist  convention  held  in 
Des  Moines,  a  Baptist  professor  from  Norway  said:  "The  Nor- 
wegians discovered  America.  I  ask  the  Baptists  of  America  to 
come  to  Norway  to  discover  the  greatest  missionary  field  in  the 
world."  His  speech  met  with  a  round  of  applause.  The  Norwe- 
gians resent  the  idea  that  they  are  "heathens,"  "350  times  as 
criminal  as  the  native  population  of  America,"  as  a  Methodist 
paper,  "The  Vanguard"  (St.  Louis),  once  put  it.  The  charge  is 
not  true.  The  Census  Report  on  Crime  for  1904  shows  that  one 
out  of  6,404  native-born  Americans  was  in  prison,  but  only  one 
out  of  13,139  of  the  immigrants  of  Scandinavia  and  Germany, 
Lutheran  lands.  The  Norwegians  were  three  times  as  moral  and 
law-abiding  as  the  average  American  citizen. 

The  influence  of  the  Reformed  churches  on  the  Norwegians 
is  not  very  great  in  this  "foreign  mission"  work.  It  is  greatest  in 
an  indirect  way.  Perhaps  greatest  through  its  books  and  papers. 
Thousands  upon  thousands  of  Reformed  books  are  sold  in  the 
Lutheran  book  stores  and  occupy  places  of  honor  in  the  book 
shelves  of  pastors  and  lay  people  and  are  studied  in  the  Lutheran 
schools.  The  Lutheran  papers  freely  clip  stories  from  the  Re- 
formed papers  and  portray  the  progress  within  the  Reformed 
camps,  with  many  a  word  of  sympathy  and  appreciation.  About 
80  per  cent  of  the  material  in  the  English  Lutheran  hymnals 
is  from  Reformed  sources,  and  over  90  per  cent  of  the  songs 
sung  in  Sunday  School  are  the  compositions  of  Reformed  poets 
and  musicians.  Much  of  the  work  of  the  Lutheran  Church — in 
the  Sunday  School,  at  the  expense  of  the  parochial  school,  in 
the  Bible  school  movement,  in  the  young  people's  Luther  leagues, 
in  missionary,  evangelistic  and  other  church  work,  is  clearly  in- 
fluenced by  Reformed  models. 

Whether  or  not  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  are  exerting  a  benefi- 
cent counter  influence  on  their  Reformed  friends  is  harder  to 
say.  The  Reformed  will  not  buy  Lutheran  books  or  use  Lutheran 
hymns  or  copy  Lutheran  ways  to  any  great  extent.  The  Lutheran 
Church  has  a  message  for  the  world,  especially  in  a  day  like  ours, 


The  American  Period  375 

when  Modernism  under  many  forms — Materialism,  Spiritism, 
Evolution,  Rationalism,  etc. — lifts  its  horrid  head.  Concerning 
the  Lutheran  Church,  the  "New  Reformation,"  a  Reformed  paper, 
says  (November,  1924)  :  "The  Lutherans  so  far  as  we  have  been 
able  to  detect,  know  of  no  divided  ranks.  The  Church  named  after 
the  Hero  of  Worms  is  compact  and  solid  for  the  Christ  of  God." 

9.  Education,  1890-1925 

The  fact  that  the  Norwegian  people  of  America  have  now 
entered  the  American  stage  of  their  sojourn  is  very  forcibly 
brought  out  in  the  story  of  their  schools.  Never  before  have 
patriotic  Norwegians  and  consecrated  Lutheran  Christians  pleaded 
so  eloquently  for  the  support  of  the  Norwegian  schools,  and  never 
have  they  been  maintained  with  so  much  difficulty. 

The  period  started  with  practically  every  Norwegian  believing 
in  the  whole  school  system  as  an  absolute  necessity — parochial 
schools  for  the  children,  academies  for  the  youth,  and  colleges 
for  young  manhood  and  womanhood,  besides  the  theological  semi- 
nary for  the  training  of  ministers  and  missionaries,  normal  schools 
for  the  training  of  parochial  teachers  and  deaconess  homes  for 
the  training  of  deaconesses.  In  the  faith  of  the  fathers  they 
founded  a  number  of  academies  and  colleges  in  the  first  half  of 
this  period,  and,  up  to  1907,  the  attendance  at  these  schools  was 
steadily  on  the  increase  year  by  year. 

But,  beginning  with  1907,  the  attendance  has  gradually  de- 
clined and  one  precious  school  after  another  has  given  up  the 
ghost  and  is  no  more.  The  Norwegian  acade- 
The  Academy  mies  are  going.   A  wind  has  passed  over  them, 

and  they  are  gone;  and  the  place  where  they 
stood  shall  know  them  no  more.  Such  seems  to  be  the  sad  edu- 
cational tale  of  the  American  Period.  They  prospered  nicely  as 
long  as  the  Norwegians  were  Norwegian-Americans,  but  they 
were  starved  out  for  want  of  students  and  other  support  as  soon 
as  the  Norwegians  became  Americans.  As  Americans  the  Nor- 
wegians prefer  to  give  their  undivided  support  to  the  American 
school  system.  The  American  public  schools  are  free,  publicly 
controlled,  tax-supported  and  non-sectarian.  The  system  extends 
from  the  kindergarten  to  the  university.  It  teaches  everything 
except  the  cultural  heritage  of  the  immigrant  and  the  Christian 
religion.  It  often  blots  out  that  heritage  and  robs  one  of  his 
Christian  faith. 

The  friends  of  Christianity  argue  that  the  church  academy  is 
needed.  The  history  of  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  cannot  be  fully 
understood  except  in  the  light  of  the  views  these  Norwegians 
hold  with  regard  to  education.    They  hold  as  to  the  academy  that 


376 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


'    T    T    T    T 

Luther 

Hospital. 

Eau  Claire, 

Wisconsin 

Millie  A. 

Jacobson, 

Supt. 

F.  L.  Tr0nsdal, 
Fin.    Sec'y 


T    T    T    T    T    T 


<   -^U 

o-^^ffi 

v    ' : .'  ■ 

ahHsI  : 

ilk 

-Jiff;. 

•jilflti;    ' 

3m 

T     T     T     T     T    -<■    T 

Fairview 

Hospital, 

Minneapolis, 

Minnesota 


O.  S.  Meland, 
Rector 

Jos.    G.    Norby, 
Supt. 

J.  C.  Hallum, 
President 


T    T    T    T    T    T    T 


The  American  Period 


377 


it  is  needed  in  the  American  Period  more  than  ever  before.  It 
is  needed  especially  in  early  and  middle  youth,  the  high  school 
age.  Early  and  middle  youth  is  the  time  of  greatest  bodily  growth, 
and  of  greatest  mental,  moral  and  religious  development.  It  is 
the  age  of  confirmation,  conversion,  choice  and  character  forma- 
tion. It  is  the  age  of  beginning  religious  indifference,  skepticism 
and  criminality.  Nearly  all  are  confirmed  at  this  time  of  life. 
Over  80  per  cent  of  the  registered  conversions  are  of  people 
under  20  years  of  age.  Choice  of  occupation  is  made  in  four  cases 
out  of  five  in  the  high  school  age.  Character  is  best  molded  in 
early  youth,  for  then  there  is  greater  plasticity  than  at  any  time 


m"'at7 


1  g^r^S      _ 


(«',         (t-.        ^A> 


ll  f 


Why      Destroy    the     Mam      Supports     of     Christian   TrAinin^? 


later  in  life.  You  may  bend  the  sapling,  but  not  the  tree.  Strike 
while  the  iron  is  hot.  Most  criminals  get  their  start  at  this  early 
age.  All  need  moral  and  religious  instruction  of  the  right  kind 
at  this  time.  The  public  schools  do  not  give,  can  not  give,  this 
instruction.  Only  a  true  Christian  instruction  can  create  a  Chris- 
tian conscience  and  faith,  in  short,  a  Christian  character.  Only 
the  Christian  academy  can  satisfy  this  inherent  need.  The  homes, 
Sunday  Schools  and  churches  are  not  supplying  this  instruction 
adequately.  Secular  instruction  alone  during  these  four  crucial 
years,  especially  if  anti-Christian,  which  sometimes  happens,  is 
harmful  to  conscience  and  faith  and  conduct.  The  secular  schools, 
by  their  very  secular  nature,  not  to  speak  of  their  anti-Christian 
spirit  in  many  places,  are  de-Christianizing  the  land,  no  matter 
how  much  some  of  them  try  not  to  do  so. 


378 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


The  Norwegian  Lutheran  academy  has  reached  more  Nor- 
wegian boys  and  girls  than  any  other  church  school,  and  it  has 
reached  them  at  a  more  crucial  time.  It  has  furnished  a  pre- 
paratory training  for  theological  study  of  nearly  all  the  Norwe- 
gian pastors  during  the  75  year  period,  1850-1925,  while  the  col- 
leges have  trained  only  27  per  cent.  The  Norwegian  Lutheran 
pastors  have  not  been  reared  in  the  high  schools  and  universities. 
If  they  had  been,  but  few  of  them  would  have  entered  the  humble 
but  holy  calling  of  the  Gospel  ministry  in  the  Norwegian  synods. 
The  religious  and  national  heritage  of  the  Norwegians  can  not 
be  transmitted  through  the  public  schools,  for  the  only  nationalism 
that  the  public  schools  will  tolerate  is  that  of  America,  and  Eng- 


Agnes  M.  Kittilsby 

Principal,    Unity   School, 

China 


Anna  E.   Bagstad 

Pacific  University, 

Oregon 


Anna  W.  Wright 

Principal,    Clay    School, 

Minneapolis 


land  as  the  Mother  Country.  And  the  only  religion  that  can 
legally  be  taught  in  the  public  schools  is  that  of  the  Christian  ex- 
ample of  the  teachers,  which  is  often  present  and  far-reaching 
in  its  influence,  and  yet  not  strong  enough  to  counteract  the 
steady  trend  toward  secularization  and  religious  indifference  which 
secularization  gives  rise  to.  The  system  tends  to  weaken  the  dis- 
tinctively Lutheran  and  Norwegian  character  of  the  Norwegians, 
to  erase  and  efface  these  from  their  consciousness,  to  rob  them 
of  their  heritage,  which  should  be  theirs  for  ever,  and  which 
should  be  their  cultural  contribution  to  America. 


The  Norwegian  Lutherans  founded  38  new  schools  during  this 
period.    Twenty  of  these  are  still  alive,  18  have  been  discontinued. 
Twenty-two    were    academies,    of    which    one 
New  Schools  (Concordia)  has  become  a  college,  and  another 

(Park  Region)  was  a  college  for  a  few  years, 
but  went  back  to  the  academy  grade.  Six  of  the  academies  have 
had  to  become  junior  colleges  in  order  to  keep  alive. 


The  American  Period  379 

o<u<uc3  «->    <u    <u    o    c«  c3rt  M   4>    oj  rt    u    c!    ni    rt    rt 

5  IIS "8    ||||"8    '«'&    III  "& J "S "& "& "S 

>,  J-i  ;_»-«-.  *-.  U      l_      »-i      t_ 

rn  O  <uOOO  OajOOOO 

to  to 


M       N      M 

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380 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


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The  American  Period 


381 


In  addition  to  these  new  schools  several  of  the  older  schools 
kept  on  functioning  during  a  part  or  all  of   this  period.     Eight 
of  these  schools  have  been  forced  to  the  wall, 
Old  Schools  and  eight  are  still  on  duty,  namely,  the  four  col- 

leges— Augsburg,  Augustana,  Luther,  and  St. 
Olaf,  besides  Luther  Academy,  Red  Wing  Seminary,  and  two 
deaconess  schools. 


Aaberg  Academy    

Augsburg   Seminary    

Augustana   College    

Bode  Academy    

Bruflat  Academy    

Luther   Academy    

Luther   College    

Luther   Seminary   

Lutheran  Normal   School    

Lutheran    Deaconess,    Brooklyn    . 
Lutheran   Deaconess,   Minneapolis 

Red    Wing    Seminary    

St.  Ansgar   Seminary   

St.   Olaf   College    

Stoughton  Academy    

Willmar    Seminary    


869- 
860- 
887- 


5-1903 


1902 
1918 


861- 
876- 


889- 
879- 
878- 

874- 
888- 
883- 


1917 
1918 


1910 

1900 
1919 


Clifton  Junior  College,  Carl  Tyssen,  President 


From  1852  to  1922  the  Norwegian  higher  schools  have  had 
a  combined  enrollment  of  about  150,000  students — 7,000  at  the 
theological  seminaries,  20,000  at  the  colleges,  120,000  at  the  acade- 
mies and  normal  schools,  and  3,000  at  the  deaconess  homes  and 
Bible  schools.  As  some  students  stay  at  the  same  school  three 
or  four,  nay,  even  seven  or  eight  years,  the  actual  attendance  of 
persons  is  considerably  smaller.  The  combined  enrollment  at 
Luther  College  from  1861-1922,  for  instance,  was  10,250,  but  the 
actual  number  of  names  was  only  3,554.  A  careful  estimate  of 
the  actual  number  of  Norwegians  who  have  attended  the  Nor- 
wegian  higher   schools   arrives   at   the    following   result:     Total, 


382 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


The  American  Period  383 

72,000,  43,000  men  and  29,000  women,  60  per  cent  men,  40 
per  cent  women.  There  have  been  2,400  at  the  theological  semi- 
naries; 6,000  at  the  colleges;  61,000  at  the  academies  and  normal 
schools;  and  2,000  at  the  deaconess  and  Bible  schools.  That  is, 
3.3  per  cent  have  studied  theology;  9.2  per  cent  have  been  at 
college;  84.7  per  cent  have  been  taking  secondary  studies  at 
academy  or  normal  schools,  and  2.8  per  cent  have  been  in  attend- 
ance at  deaconess  homes  or  Bible  schools.  Over  80  per  cent  of 
these  students  are  still  alive. 

The  following  tables  illustrate  and  summarize  the  attendance 
at  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  schools  by  decades: 

ATTENDANCE  AT  NORWEGIAN  LUTHERAN  SCHOOLS 

Year  Academy  College  Seminary  Special  Total 

1852 8  o        o  o  8 

1862 41  4       10  o  55 

1872 244  51       40  o  355 

1882 388  121       89  o  598 

1892 2,089  165       117  197  2.568 

1902 2,864  335       159  531  3,889 

1907 3,9o6  428       159  730  5,223 

1912 3,249  572       179  669  4,669 

1922 2,037  1,378       117  1,889  5-421 

TOTAL  ATTENDANCE  AT  NORWEGIAN  LUTHERAN  SCHOOLS 

Decade  Academy        College        Seminary      Special            Total 

1852-1861 122        10        30        o       162 

1862-1871 1,130       242       218        o      1,590 

1872-1881 3,514       971       604        o      5,089 

1882-1891 10,384      1,243      1,022       400     13,049 

1892-1901 23,245      2,543      1,404      3,987     31,089 

1902-1911 32,407      4,083      1,621      6,621     44,732 

1912-1921 27,263 8,889 1,357 9,392 46,901 

1852-1921 98,065 17,981 6,256 20,310    142,612 

Per  cent 69.0      12.6       4.3      14. 1      100.0 

By  special  schools  are  here  meant  deaconess  schools,  normal 
schools,  ladies'  seminaries,  business  schools  and  Bible  schools. 
These  are  nearly  all  of  secondary  school  grade,  though  they  can 
not  be  strictly  classified  as  academies. 

The  Lutheran  Church  is  an  educational  church.  She  believes 
in  the  Christian  training  of  the  young,  for  childhood  and  youth 

are  the  most  plastic  and  impressionable  periods 
Other  Lutheran  0f  life.    "As  the  twig  is  bent,  so  the  tree  is 

Schools  inclined."     'Train   up   the   child   the   way   he 

should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not 
depart  from  it."  Her  best  leaders  have  advocated  Christian  edu- 
cation; her  best  members  have  been  active  in  promoting  schools 
of  every  sort  that  will  make  for  knowledge  of  the  Lord  and  His 
will.    There  are  therefore  many  plans  on  foot  to  further  Chris- 


384  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Attendance 


^&r  1032     m     mi     m     w     w     m.     w 
Attendance  at  Norwegian  Lutheran  Schools 


The  American  Period  385 

tian  education.  In  elementary  education  there  are  still  men  like 
Svein  Strand  and  Knute  O.  Ljzfkensgaard,  to  plead  for  the  old-time 
parochial  school,  or  vacation  religious  school.  J.  N.  Andersen  and 
H.  P.  Grimsby  are  examples  of  men  who  work  for  the  Sunday 
School — -how  to  utilize  it  and  improve  it.  G.  M.  Bruce,  L.  P. 
Thorkveen  and  Jacob  Tanner  have  conducted  Sunday  School  in- 
stitutes. Orlando  Ingvoldstad,  A.  B.  Anderson  and  Marius  Dixen 
have  established  Bible  schools.  F.  A.  Schaffnit  and  C.  K.  Solberg 
have  been  spokesmen  for  inner  mission  training,  and  Olaf  Guld- 
seth  and  H.  B.  Kildahl  have  been  pioneers  in  making  the  deaconess 
school  understood.  John  Peterson  and  Gustav  Amlund  are  typical 
of  those  who  try  to  teach  through  the  Sunday  School  and  parochial 
school  papers.  N.  M.  Ylvisaker  is  promoting  the  Christian  training 
of  the  youth  in  the  congregations  through  the  Luther  League.  The 
academies,  colleges,  seminaries  and  normal  schools  are  active  as 
never  before  in  teaching  religion  pure  and  undefiled. 

a.  Lutheran  Colleges 

The  language,   literature  and  history  of   Norway  are   taught 
at  all  the  academies,  colleges  and  normal  schools   of  the   Nor- 
wegians.   At  Luther  College  the  chief  instruc- 
Norwegian  Studies      tors  in  Norwegian  have  been :  Thrond  Bothne, 
1876-1882;    Gisle    Bothne,    1885-1907;    Knut 

Gjerset,    1907-1923;   Ingebret   Dorrum,    1923 .    At   St.   Olaf 

College,  Th.  N.   Mohn,    1874-1899;   P.  J.  Eikeland,    1900-1921; 

and  Ole  E.  Rolvaag,   190(3 ,  are  best  known.    John  S.  Nord- 

gaard  taught  Norwegian  at  Augustana  College  from  1897  to  1923 ; 
Carl  E.  Nordberg  was  Norse  instructor  at  Augsburg  Seminary 
and  St.  Olaf;  John  H.  Blegen,  at  Augsburg,  1885-1916;  J.  L. 
Nydahl,  at  Augsburg,  1891-1920;  J.  L.  Holvik,  at  Waldorf  Col- 
lege,  1912-1919,  and  at  Concordia  College,   1923 .    Eikeland, 

Rolvaag  and  Holvik  have  written  a  number  of  grammars,  dic- 
tionaries, readers,  handbooks  and  other  text  books  for  the  study 
of  Norwegian. 

b.  State  Universities 

The  study  of  Norwegian  and  other  Scandinavian  languages 
has  also  been  pursued  at  a  number  of  American  universities  and 
colleges — New  York  University  was  the  first  to  offer  courses  in 
Scandinavian — in  1858.  Paul  G.  Sinding,  a  Dane,  was  the  in- 
structor. The  University  of  Wisconsin,  in  1869  instituted  courses 
in  Scandinavian,  with  R.  B.  Anderson  in  charge.  He  is  the  first 
Norwegian  to  teach  Norwegian  at  a  state  university.  Cornell  Uni- 
versity that  same  year  installed  William  Fiske  as'  teacher  in  Old 
Norse.  Columbia  began  in  1880,  Northwestern  in  1882,  Minne- 
sota in  1884,  Johns  Hopkins  in  1885,  Indiana  in  1885,  Nebraska 


386 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


in  1886,  Harvard  and  Michigan  in  1888,  Yale  in  1889,  Bryn 
Mawr  in  1890,  North  Dakota  in  1891,  South  Dakota  and  Cali- 
fornia in  1892,  Chicago  in  1893,  Leland  Stanford  and  Princeton 
in  1894,  Pennsylvania  in  1895,  Iowa  in  1900,  Kansas  in  1902, 
Illinois  in  1904,  Washington  University,  Seattle,  and  Washington 
University,  St.  Louis,  in  1912,  Oregon  in  1912,  Utah  in  1914, 
Smith  in  1920,  Texas  in  1921,  Colorado  in  1922,  Pennsylvania  in 
1923.  Wellesley,  Western  Reserve,  Ohio,  Fargo  and  other  schools 
have  given  courses  in  Scandinavian,  both  ancient  and  modern, 
language  and  literature.  Minnesota  has,  of  course,  the  largest 
attendance  in  the  Scandinavian  classes.  Gisle  Bothne  is  the  head 
of  the  department  and  professor  of  Norwegian.  Andrew  A.  Stom- 
berg  is  professor  of  Swedish,  succeeding  Dr.  John  S.  Carlson. 


Dr.  T.  R.  Running, 

Mathematics 

University  of  Michigan 


Dr.  J.  E.  Granrud 

Latin 
Univ.  of  Minnesota 


Dr.  L.  M.  Larson 

History 

University  of  Illinois 


Some  State  University  Scholars 


Among  Norwegians  teaching  Norwegian  at  state  schools  are: 
R.  B.  Anderson  at  Wisconsin,  1869-1884;  Julius  E.  Olson  at  Wis- 
consin, 1884 .    Olaus  J.  Breda,  1884-1898,  and  Gisle  Bothne, 

1907 ,  at  Minnesota;  George  T.  Flom,  1900-1909,  and  Hen- 

ning  Larsen,  1900 ,  at  Iowa;  George  T.  Flom,  1909 ,  at 

Illinois;  Ole  E.  Hagen,  1892-1901,  John  R.  Lavik,  1903-1906, 
Tollef  B.  Thompson,  1906-1918,  at  South  Dakota;  George  T. 
Rygh,  1891-1895,  Carl  J.  Rollefson,  1898-1903,  and  John  O.  Tin- 

gelstad,  1900 ,  at  North  Dakota;  Olaus  Dahl,  1891-1895,  at 

Yale,  and  1895-1897,  at  Chicago;  Agnes  M.  Wergeland,  1896-1907, 
at  Chicago ;  O.  J.  P.  Widtsoe,  1920 ,  at  Utah.  These  profes- 
sors have  all  made  good  as  teachers,  lecturers,  writers,  exponents 
of  Scandinavian  culture,  and  scholarly  representatives  of  the  Nor- 
wegian people.  They  have  not  always  been  appreciated,  and  one 
reason  for  the  lack  of  appreciation  is,  that  their  colleagues  on  the 
university  faculties  have  had  little  or  no  acquaintance  with  the 
Scandinavian  North,  its  language,  literature,  history,  science  and 


The  American  Period 


387 


fine  arts.  The  professor  longest  in  the  service  is  Julius  E.  Olson 
of  Wisconsin.  He  has  built  up  a  strong  Scandinavian  department 
against  many  odds,  and  the  appreciation  which  is  voiced  in  the 
following  letter  from  Dean  C.  F.  Smith  of  the  Graduate  School 
at  Wisconsin  is  well  earned.  The  occasion  for  the  letter  was  a 
public  lecture  that  Olson  had  delivered  on  the  poet  Wergeland. 

"My  dear  Professor  Olson :  I  did  not  get  over  my  stirring  of 
spirit  quickly  last  night,  but  lay  awake  a  long  time.  I  knew  be- 
fore that  you  were  a  good  speaker,  but  I  did  not  know  till  last 
night  that  you  were  one  of  the  very  chief  interpreters  of  poetry 
in  our  midst,  though  I  did  know  that  you  loved  it.  With  a  grate- 
ful heart  I  thanked  God  on  my  knees  last  night  for  what  the 
evening  seemed  to  open  up  for  me.  When  you  are  discouraged, 
remember  that  it  took  fifteen  years  to  win  your  way  completely 
into  my  heart  and  judgment.  You  were  here  all  the  time,  and  I 
might  have  found  it  out  long  ago,  but  I  didn't  know,  or  hadn't 
taken  the  trouble.  I  beg  your  pardon  ....  I  understand 
better  now  why  more  and  more  students  want  your  lecture  courses 
in  Norse  literature.  Charles  Forster  Smith." 

A  complete  list  of  the  teachers  and  courses  in  Scandinavian 
at  American  universities  has  been  compiled  by  Dr.  Flom  in  "Iowa 
Studies  in  Language  and  Literature"  (May,  1907)  and  "Skandi- 
naven:  Almanak  og  Kalender,  1925." 

c.  High  Schools 
During  the  years  1906-1910  Dr.  J.  N.  Lenker  and  others 
began  a  campaign  for  the  study  of  Scandinavian  in  the  high 
schools  and  common  schools  of  the  Northwest.  Lenker  pleaded 
in  writing  and  lectures  for  a  three-language  education — the  lan- 
guage of  the  land,  the  language  of  the  immigrant  homes,  and  a 
language  for  professional  purposes.  A  few  common  school  dis- 
tricts introduced  Norwegian,  but  only  a  few.  In  1910  the  high 
schools  of  Minneapolis  were  ready  to  try  the  experiment  of  offer- 


Thrond    Bothne 
Luther  College 


Maren   Michelet 
Mpls.  South  High 


P.  J.  Eikeland,  Litt.D. 
St.  Olaf  College 


Inspiring  Teachers  of  Norwegian 


388 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


United  Church  Seminary  (now  Luther  Theological  Seminary),  in  1914 
Dr.  M.  O.  B0ckman,  President 

ing  Norwegian  and  Swedish  alongside  of  German  and  French. 
And  why  should  they  not?  Norwegian  and  Swedish  are  just  as 
good  languages  as  are  German  and  French.  Norwegians  and 
Swedes  outnumber  the  German  and  French  in  Minnesota  and 
surely  have  the  right  to  get  the  kind  of  school  subjects  they  want 
their  children  to  study,  seeing  that  they  are  paying  their  share 
of  the  taxes.    Thus  they  reasoned. 


Chicago  Luther  Bible  School 
Orlando  Ingvoldstad,  Founder  and  President 


The  American  Period  389 

In  1917,  after  seven  years  of  pioneer  work,  Miss  Maren 
Michelet  was  able  to  report  that  she  had  sent  out  questionnaires 
to  168  high  schools  that  were  giving  instruction  in  Scandinavian, 
and  had  received  73  replies.  43  schools,  in  seven  states — Minne- 
sota, North  Dakota,  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  South  Dakota,  and 
Washington — gave  instruction  in  Norwegian  to  1,380  scholars, 
and  20  schools  in  3  states — Minnesota,  Illinois  and  Nebraska — 
gave  instruction  in  Swedish  to  918  scholars.  The  intense  anti- 
foreign  spirit  during  the  World  War  checked  the  good  work  con- 
siderably. There  was  an  almost  insane  hostility  toward  every 
foreign  language,  resulting  in  the  abandonment  of  many  Scandi- 
navian classes.  Since  the  armistice  it  has  been  very  hard  to  get 
the  interest  in  Scandinavian  studies  re-awakened.  Dr.  J.  N. 
Lenker  is  as  enthusiastic  as  ever,  and  Miss  Michelet  is  still  at 
her  post,  at  South  High,  Minneapolis.  Dr.  Lenker  is  German- 
Scotch-Irish  but  his  better  half  is  Norwegian.  He  claims  that  the 
Scotch-Irish  in  him  is  of  the  Old  Norse  strain  from  Edinburgh. 
Mrs.  Lenker,  before  her  marriage,  was  Nora  Cecilia  Walstead, 
for  many  years  president  of  the  Walsh  County  Normal  and 
Agricultural  School  in  North  Dakota  and  state  rural  super- 
visor of  schools  in  California.  This  happy  pair  has  a  daughter, 
appropriately  named  Lutherin  Lenker,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
Lenker  has  been  a  translator  of  Luther  into  English  and  the  author 
of  "Lutherans  in  All  Lands."  Miss  Michelet  is  the  first  teacher  of 
Norwegian  in  any  public  high  school  in  the  United  States.  She  is 
the  author  of  a  text  book  for  high  schools — "First  Year  Norse," 
which  has  run  six  editions  already.  She  has  edited  Dr.  Agnes  M. 
Wergeland's  works  and  written  much  on  modern  language  instruc- 
tion. Minneapolis  is  still  the  center  of  the  agitation  for  the  study 
of  Norwegian  in  the  high  schools.  The  teachers  in  this  subject  in 
1925  are:  Maren  Michelet,  South  High;  A.  C.  Erdahl,  Central 
High ;  E.  Pauline  Farseth,  North  High ;  and  B.  O.  Eggen,  Roose- 
velt High. 

In  1915  the  population  of  the  United  States  was  100,725,000. 
The  total  enrollment  in  all  schools,  elementary  and  higher,  was 

23,113,931,  or  22.9  per  cent  of  the  total  popu- 
Norwegians  in  the  lation.  6.4  per  cent  of  the  school  population 
Nation's  Schools         attended  high  schools,    1.0  per  cent  attended 

colleges  and  universities,  .7  per  cent  attended 
professional  schools.  Of  the  565  standard  American  colleges  and 
universities  92,  or  16  per  cent,  were  public  institutions,  tax-sup- 
ported and  controlled ;  473  were  private  schools,  founded  and  sup- 
ported by  some  church  or  privately  endowned.  There  are  pro- 
fessors and  instructors  of  Norwegian  stock  at  more  than  100 
of  these  higher  institutions.  In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  a 
list  of  50  universities  and  50  colleges  employing  Norwegians  and 
the  names  of  a  few  of  the  Norwegian  instructors  in  their  faculties, 


390 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


together  with  their  scholastic  degree,  principal  subject  and  years 
of  tenure.  Of  the  752,055  teachers  in  the  elementary  schools, 
about  2  per  cent  were  Norwegian — an  army  of  15,000  school 
ma'ams. 

Occasionally  a  Norwegian  rises  to  the  highest  positions  of  trust 
in  the  teaching  world.  At  least  three  men  have  occupied  the  office 
of  state  superintendent  of  public  schools: 

John  G.  Halland,  superintendent  North  Dakota,  1897-1901. 

Hans  Andrias  Ustrud,  superintendent  South  Dakota,  1906- 
1910. 

Garl  Gustavus  Lawrence,  superintendent  South  Dakota,  1910- 
1914. 

A  number  have  been  at  the  head  of  state  universities,  agricul- 


R.  B.  Anderson,  LL.D.      Julius  E.  Olson,  B.L.      George  T.  Flom,  Ph.D. 
Univ.  of  Wisconsin  Univ.  of  Wisconsin  Univ.  of  Illinois 

1869- 1884  1884—  1909— 

Famous  Professors  of  Norwegian  at  State  Universities 


tural  schools,  normal  colleges  and  other  higher  institutions  of 
learning,  as,  for  example: 

Edward  Olsen,  Ph.D.,  president,  University  of  South  Dakota, 
1887-1889. 

Aven  Nelson,  Ph.D.,  president,  University  of  Wyoming, 
1912-1922. 

John  Andreas  Widtsoe,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  president,  University  of 
Utah,  1916-1921;  also  president,  Utah  Agricultural  College,  1907- 
1916. 

Ludvig  Hektoen,  M.D.,  Sc.D.,  LL.D.,  director,  McCormick 
Institute  for  Infectious  Diseases,  1902 . 

Conrad  George  Selvig,  A.M.,  president,  Crookston  North 
Western  School  of  Agriculture,  1910 . 

Harold  Waldstein  Foght,  Ph.D.,  president,  Aberdeen  Northern 
Normal  and  Industrial,  1919 . 

Carl  Gustavus  Lawrence,  A.M.,  president,  Springfield  Normal, 
1919 . 


The  American  Period 


391 


John  O.  Evjen,  Ph.D.,  president,  Mayville  Normal,  1919-1923. 

Carl  C.  Swain,  Ph.D.,  president,  Mayville  Normal,  1923 . 

Joseph  Wist,  A.B.,  president,  Honolulu  Normal. 

Elsa  Ueland,  A.M.,  president,  Carson  College,  Flourtown,  Pa. 

A  considerable  number  are  deans  and  departmental  heads  of 
great  institutions.  Of  deans  we  have  an  example  in  Alfred  Owre, 
M.D.,  D.M.D.,  CM.,  dean  of  the  College  of  Dentistry,  University 

of  Minnesota,  1905 .    Other  examples:  Christian  Peter  Lom- 

men,   B.S.,   dean  of   College  of   Medicine,  University  of   South 

Dakota,   1891 ;  M.  Beatrice  Olson,   A.M.,   dean  of  women, 

University  of  North  Dakota,  1922 ;  Frank  Morton  Erickson, 

A.M.,  dean  of  Ripon  College,  1909-1914;  Francis  E.  Peterson, 
A.M.,  director  of  extension  work,  Honolulu,  1924 . 


J.  S.  Nordgaard 
Augustana  College 


George  Sverdrup 
Pres.,  Augsburg  Sem. 


J.   U.   Xavier 
Pacific  College 


During  the  first  period  (1825-1860)  there  was  one  private 
school — the  Tank,  at  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin.  During  the  second 
period  (1860-1890)  there  were  three  private 
Private  Schools  schools — the    Valder    Business     College    and 

Normal  School,  Decorah,  Iowa,  (1888-1922), 
the  Albion  Academy,  Albion,  Wisconsin  (1890-1900),  and  the 
Wraaman  Academy,  Minneapolis  (1890-1897).  During  the  third 
period  (1890-1925),  there  have  been  at  least  14  private  schools. 
These  are: 

Mankato  Commercial  College,  Mankato,  Minnesota,  1891 . 

Crookston  Commercial  College,  Crookston,  Minn.,   1895 . 

Humboldt  College,  Humboldt,  Iowa,  1895-1914;  Minneapolis, 
1914 . 

North  Star  Normal  School,  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  1895-1898(  ?). 

Minnesota  Normal  and  Business  College,  Minneapolis,  Minne- 
sota, 1898-1900. 

Ronnei's  Business  College,  Devils  Lake,  N.  Dak.,  1902-1906. 

Sk^rdalsvold   Night   School,   Minneapolis,  Minn.,    1902-1912. 


392 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Aaker  Business  College,  Fargo,  North  Dakota,  1902-1923. 

Norway  Lake  Domestic  Science  School,  Norway  Lake,  Minne- 
sota, 1904-1907(?). 

Aaker  Business  College,  Grand  Forks,  N.  Dak.,  1915 . 

Elbow  Lake  Business  College,  Elbow  Lake,  Minn.,  1902-03 (?) 

Monson  Institute  of  Music,  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

Ouam  Practical  Business  College,  Minneapolis,  1917 — . 

American  Business  College,  Grand  Forks,  North  Dakota,  1924. 

The  Mankato  Commercial  College  was  founded  by  J.  R. 
Brandrup,  who  has  been  a  teacher  at  the  school  and  its  president 
ever  since   1891.    It  has  had  a  good  attendance  and  has   given 


L.  J.  Monson 
Monson  Inst,  of  Music 


O.   J.   Hanson 
Am.   Bus.  College 


Hans  H.  Aaker 
Aaker  Bus.   College 


an  excellent  business  instruction  to  thousands  of  young  people. 
Brandrup  was  a  teacher  at  Luther  Academy  1889-1891. 

The  Crookston  Commercial  College  was  started  by  M.  L.  Tuve 
and  Gabriel  Loftf  jeld  in  1895.  The  attendance  was  so  encouraging 
that  they  decided  in  1896  to  move  to  Minneapolis.  The  school 
continued  under  new  managers.  J.  C.  Sathre  was  president  from 
1896  to  1922.  He  was  an  M.S.  from  Valparaiso,  an  LL.B.  from 
Minnesota.  He  was  president  of  the  Northwestern  Commercial 
Schools  Association,  the  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement, 
the  Social  Service  League,  etc.  He  died  in  1922.  There  were  six 
teachers  and  about  150  students  annually.  The  school  is  continued 
under  the  management  of  E.  M.  Sathre,  president;  F.  M.  Sathre, 
vice  president,  and  K.  S.  Sathre,  secretary. 

Humboldt  College,  Humboldt,  Iowa,  was  started  early  in  the 
'70s  as  a  Unitarian  school,  but  discontinued  through  lack  of  sup- 
port. In  the  spring  of  1895  Jens  P.  Peterson,  commercial  teacher 
at  Jewell  College,  and  his  brother-in-law,  August  Leonard  Ronell, 
register  of  deeds  at  Vermilion,  South  Dakota,  re-opened  the 
school  on  condition  that  the  citizens  of  Humboldt  would  donate 


The  American  Period 


393 


the  property.  The  school  opened  in  October,  1895,  with  only  30 
students,  but  it  had  a  hundred  before  the  year  closed.  The  avail- 
able cash  was  only  87  cents,  but  yet  it  was  found  necessary  to 
erect  a  dormitory — West  Hall — in  1896.  To  make  a  long  story 
short,  inside  of  five  years  the  school  had  four  buildings  and  an 
attendance  of  more  than  200  students  taking  work  in  sixteen  de- 
partments. It  was  paying  its  expenses,  although  the  tuition  was 
only  $33.00  for  40  weeks.  The  students  came  from  ten  different 
states,  but  most  of  them  were  from  Humboldt  and  neighboring 
counties.  Then  like  a  bolt  from  a  clear  sky  came  the  announce- 
ment that  the  college  was  to  be  assessed  $40,000.00.  In  vain  did 
Professor  Peterson  call  the  attention  of  the  Board  of  Equaliza- 
tion to  the  fact  that  this  was  the  onlv  school  of  its  kind  in  the 


Mrs.  Ida  Picard  J.  N.  Brown  Mrs.   Lena   Dahl 

Luther  League  and  Missionary  Leaders 

state  that  was  taxed.  Plans  were  immediately  taken  to  remove 
the  school  to  some  more  favorable  state.  In  1914  the  college  build- 
ings and  eight  acres  of  the  campus  were  traded  for  Red  River 
land,  and  the  remaining  72  acres  were  sold  for  cash.  The  school 
then  moved  to  Minneapolis,  where  it  is  now  located  on  Washing- 
ton Avenue,  at  Seven  Corners,  and  is  being  conducted  as  a  very 
successful  business  college.  The  school  has  done  noble  work. 
Among  its  graduates  are  such  men  as :  A.  O.  Hauge,  now  presi- 
dent of  the  Iowa  Trust  and  Savings  Bank,  Des  Moines;  Hans 
Flo,  head  of  the  Discount  Department  of  the  Federal  Reserve 
Bank  of  Salt  Lake  City ;  John  Lakness,  manager  of  the  Rocky 
Mt.  Telegraph  and  Telephone  Co.,  Ontario,  Oregon ;  Bert  L. 
Stringer,  president  of  the .  Erie  Business  College;  A.  D.  Crom- 
well, commissioner  of  education,  Porto  Rico,  now  professor  of 
agriculture,  West  Chester  Normal,  Pennsylvania,  was  one  of  the 
most  faithful  of  the  teachers,  1896-1912.  The  staff  of  teachers 
numbered  from  15  to  25  each  year.  Peterson  is  an  unusually  able 
business  man,  executive  and  teacher.  Like  so  many  other  Nor- 
wegians in  the  '80s,  he  had  received  his  college  training  and  edu- 
cational   ideals    at    the    Northern    Indiana    Normal    School,    now 


394  Norwegian  People  in  America 

known  as  Valparaiso  University.  His  wife,  nee  Elizabeth  Ever- 
son,  has  been  a  teacher  at  his  school  for  30  years.  She  took 
third  prize  in  artistic  shorthand  in  the  Teachers'  Blackboard  Con- 
test, conducted  by  the  Order  of  Gregg  Artists,  1917;  took  highest 
prize  in  the  fifth  annual  contest,  winning  over  2,100  contestants 
from  41  states  and  countries,  in  1919;  took  first  prize  in  America, 
second  in  the  world,  in  contests  for  school  clubs  on  the  "Gregg 
Writer,"  1923.  In  1924  one  of  her  pupils,  Minnie  Mozeng,  took 
first  prize  in  world  contest  in  which  more  than  8,000  contestants 
took  part.  Professor  Peterson  and  wife  can  be  found  in  the 
school  room  every  school  day  of  the  year,  summer  and  winter. 
A.  L.  Ronell  has  been  a  farmer  at  Minot,  North  Dakota,  since 
1906. 

The  North  Star  Normal  was  started  in  1895  and  conducted  a 


Humboldt  College,  J.  P.  Peterson,  President 

few  years  in  the  former  Norw.  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  at 
1900  Riverside  Avenue,  Minneapolis.  A.  H.  Faroe  was  the  prin- 
cipal and  E.  M.  Schelde  assisted.  A  very  promising  start  was 
made ;  but  Professor  Faroe  died  and  Schelde  laid  down  the  work, 
removing  to  Austin,  Minnesota. 

The  Minnesota  Normal  and  Business  College  was  conducted 
at  1700  E.  Franklin  Avenue,  Minneapolis,  1898-1900,  by  M.  L. 
Tuve  and  Gabriel  Loftfjeld. 

S.  P.  Ronnei  conducted  the  Ronnei  Business  College  at  Devils 
Lake,  North  Dakota,  1902-1906.  He  had  two  assistant  teachers 
and  about  30  students.  Ronnei  has  taught  at  Forest  City,  Iowa, 
1897-1898;  Jewell  College,  1898-1900;  Scandinavia  Academy, 
1906-1907;  Buena  Vista  College,  1908;  Sioux  City,  1909-1914; 
Augsburg  Seminary,  1915-1916;  Osakis,  Minnesota,  1917-1918; 
Willmar  Seminary,   1918-1919;  Grinnell,   Iowa,   1919-1920;  Au- 

gustana   College,   1920- He  is   the  author  of   the   "Ronnei 

System  of  Business,"  1913-1917. 


The  American  Period 


395 


Johannes  J.  SkoYdalsvold  maintained  the  Sk^rdalsvold  Night 
School  from  1902-1912,  at  first  in  the  Nazareth  Church,  and  later 
in  a  little  school  house  of  his  own.  English  was  the  main  subject 
taught.  It  happened  that  young  people  came  to  the  school  in  the 
evening  of  the  very  day  on  which  they  arrived  from  Norway. 
The  whole  number  of  persons  doing  work  at  the  school  was  about 
1,500.  Among  the  teachers  were  Samuel  Garborg,  a  brother  of 
the  poet  Arne  Garborg,  Amandus  Norman,  Inga  Dahl  and  Thor- 
wald  Nelson.  The  school  closed  because  the  city  offered  the  same 
grade  of  work  free  of  charge.  SkpYdalsvold  received  his  A.B.  at 
Augsburg  Seminary  in  1881  and  a  B.L.  at  the  University  of 
Minnesota  in   1888.    He  studied  at  the  University  of   Berlin  in 


J.  J.  Sk0rdalsvold      Mrs.  Elizabeth  Peterson 


J.  P.  Peterson 


1889-1890.  He  was  a  teacher  22  years.  Since  1918  he  has  been 
a  proofreader  at  Augsburg  Publishing  House.  Since  1881  he  has 
been  a  newspaper  reporter  and  correspondent,  translator,  editor, 
writer  of  poems,  stories  and  magazine  articles.  The  poem,  "To 
Our  Real  Heroes,"  on  page  512,  is  from  his  versatile  pen.  He 
has  been  a  consistent  temperance  advocate  and  pacifist  all  his 
life  and  at  all  times  a  friend  of  the  people  in  every  political  and 
social  issue.  He  is  a  heavy  stockholder  and  secretary  of  the 
Fremad  Publishing  Co.,  Eau  Claire  ("Reform").  His  son  Magne, 
student  at  the  Minnesota  Agricultural  College,  is  the  champion 
turner  in  the  Middle  West.  His  daughter  Jennie,  trained  at  Min- 
neapolis, Chicago  and  New  York,  is  one  of  the  sweetest  singers. 
His  daughter  Sigrid  is  dietitian  and  teacher  at  the  Norwegian 
Daconess  Hospital,  Minneapolis,  and  has  a  knack  for  pulling  her 
scholars  through  at  the  state  examinations.  His  son,  Peter  Skur- 
dalsvold,  has  three  scholastic  degrees,  B.S.,  LL.B.  and  C.E.  He 
is  employed  in  the  Schedule  Department  of  the  Twin  City  Rapid 
Transit  Co.  And  Professor  Sko'rdalsvold,  as  well  as  his  wife, 
nee  Anne  Romundstad,  resembles  Ibsen's  "Terje  Viken"  in 
this  that: 

On  land  or  in  sea,  no  quarrel  he'd  seek, 

From  him,  none  of  harm  need  fear. 


396  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Aaker's  Business  College,  Fargo,  North  Dakota,  was  named 
after  its  founder,  Hans  H.  Aaker.  Professor  Aaker,  trained  at 
Luther  College  and  Valparaiso,  has  taught  at  Willmar  Seminary, 
1883-1888;  Concordia  College,  1891-1902;  Aaker's  College,  Fargo, 
1902-1923;  Aaker's  College,  Grand  Forks,  1907 — .  He  has 
been  mayor  of  Moorhead,  candidate  for  Congress  in  Minnesota 
and  for  governor  of  the  state  of  North  Dakota;  he  has  also  run 
for  congress  in  North  Dakota  as  a  Progressive.  He  was  president 
of  Concordia  College,  1893-1902,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  citizens 
of  the  Northwest. 

The  American  Business  College  is  a  continuation  of  the 
Aaker's  in  Fargo.    Oscar  J.  Hanson  has  taught  business  subjects 


Upper  row:    Mrs.  O.  S.  Reigstad,  Mrs.  H.  B.  Kildahl,  Mrs.  O.  S.  Meland 

Lower  row:   Mrs.  Edw.   Johnson,   Mrs.   G.  T.   Rygh, 

Mrs.  I.  D.  Ylvisaker   (President) 

Miss  Mathilde  Rasmussen,   Mrs.   Jos.  O.  Estrem 

at  Crookston,  Grand  Forks  and  Concordia  College  18  years.  He 
bought  Aaker's  College  in  Fargo  in  1918  and  conducted  it  suc- 
cessfully for  five  years  under  the  name  Fargo  Business  College. 
He  sold  it  in  1922  and  started  the  Hanson  Funeral  Homes  in 
Fargo  and  Grand  Forks.  As  the  school  did  not  seem  to  flourish, 
Hanson  bought  it  back.  He  has  400  students.  He  now  runs  three 
establishments  and  is  a  vigorous  church  worker  besides,  being 
also  president  of  the  Luther  League  of  North  Dakota. 

A  hundred  higher  schools  in  a  hundred  years !    That  is  the 
mark  reached  by  the  Norwegians  in  America.    Forty-one  of  these 
are  still  alive  and  in  good  health.    Sixty-three 
100  Schools  of  them  were  founded  by  the  Norwegian  Lu- 

therans alone,  12  by  the  Norwegian  Lutherans 
in    conjunction    with    other     Lutheran     nationalities — Germans, 


The  American  Period 


397 


Swedes,  Danes.  Seven  were  founded  by  Norwegian  Methodists, 
Baptists,  Congregationalists  and  Quakers.  Eighteen  were  private 
ventures.  The  Norwegian  Lutherans  still  maintain  26  alone  and 
four  in  connection  with  other  synods ;  the  Reformed  bodies  have 
four;  there  are  seven  privately-owned  schools  still  a-running. 

Thirty-three  of  the  schools  were  first  located  in  Minnesota ;  18 
in  Wisconsin;  12  in  North  Dakota;  13  in  Illinois;  9  in  Iowa;  4 
in  Washington ;  3  in  New  York ;  2  in  South  Dakota ;  and  1  each 
in  Texas,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Missouri,  Alberta  and  Sas- 
katchewan. Several  schools 
have  moved  to  new  localities 
with  the  moving  population — 
Augustana  moved  from  Illi- 
nois to  Wisconsin,  and  from 
Wisconsin  to  Iowa,  and  from 
Iowa  to  South  Dakota.  Augs- 
burg and  Luther  Seminary 
moved  from  Wisconsin  to 
Minnesota ;  Bethania  moved 
from  Poulsbo  to  Everett, 
Washington ;  Lutheran  Bible 
School  moved  from  Wahpeton 
to  Grand  Forks,  North  Da- 
kota; Augustana  moved  from 
Canton  to  Sioux  Falls,  South 
Dakota. 

Augustana  is  the  oldest 
school  still  in  existence  and 
holds  the  record  for  moving. 
Under  Dr.  C.  O.  Solberg's 
presidency  it  is  taking  rank  as 
a  leading  college  in  South  Da- 
kota. Luther  College  is  the 
next  oldest  and  holds  the 
record    for    conservatism   and 

wide-reaching  influence.  Dr.  O.  L.  Olson  is  a  worthy  successor  of 
Larsen  and  Preus.  Augsburg  Seminary  is  the  third  oldest,  and 
is  the  oldest  theological  seminary  and  the  most  urgent  in  stressing 
the  need  of  living  converted,  Christian  lives.  George  Sverdrup, 
the  president,  is  one  of  the  best  Hebrew  scholars  among  the  Nor- 
wegians. He  has  studied  in  the  Holy  Land.  St.  Olaf  is  the  fourth 
oldest,  was  the  first  to  establish  co-education,  is  the  largest  and 
most  modern.  Dr.  L.  W.  Boe's  organizing  talent  will  bring  this 
school  up  to  the  highest  standards  of  efficiency.  Luther  and  St. 
Olaf  are  meeting  all  the  requirements  of  the  North  Central  As- 


Rev.  L.  C.  Johnson  and  His  Three 
Hand-written      Bibles      (Copied      by 
himself  —  Norwegian 
pages ;    English    Bible, 
and   German   Bible). 


Bible,     1,147 
1,032   pages ; 


398 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


sociation  of  Universities  and  Colleges  and  are  fully  accredited; 
Augustana,  Concordia  and  Augsburg  are  trying  hard  to  meet  the 
standards. 

The  youngest  schools  of  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  are  the 
Bible  schools— Chicago,  1917;  Minneapolis,  1919;  Miller,  1920; 
and  Willmar,  1921.  Although  the  idea  of  teaching  the  Bible  to 
the  children  and  youth  goes  back  to  the  pioneer  fathers  and  Mar- 
tin Luther,  the  founder  of  their  church,  still  the  plan  of  these 
modern  Bible  schools  is  really  borrowed  from  the  Reformed 
denominations,  especially  from  the  Bible  school  leaders,  Wm. 
Dwight  Moody  of  Chicago,  Reuben  A.  Torrey  of  Los  Angeles  and 
John  Campbell  White  of  New  York.  The  movement  itself  is 
very  commendable,  for  it  emphasizes  more  Bible  study  and  daily 
Bible  reading,  in  short,  back  to  the  Bible  as  the  only  source  and 


Marius  Dixen 


Orlando  Ingvoldstad 


A.  B.  Anderson 


rule  of  faith  and  works.  Many  Lutheran  educators  are  hoping 
that  all  the  Lutheran  higher  schools  will  give  more  attention  to 
the  reading  and  study  of  the  Bible  at  first  hand,  while  not  neglect- 
ing the  study  of  the  catechism,  Bible  history,  church  history  and 
other  religious  courses.  Orlando  Ingvoldstad,  a  student  of  White, 
is  the  founder  and  dean  of  the  Chicago  Lutheran  Bible  School. 
He  has  a  good  faculty  and  reaches  out  to  upwards  of  1,500  a 
year.  The  school  has  acquired  property  to  the  value  of 
$400,000.00,  free-will  gifts.  F.  A.  SchafTnit  and  J.  A.  O.  Stub, 
D.D.,  are  the  founders  of  the  Minneapolis  Missionary  Training 
School.  C.  K.  Solberg  is  the  president.  The  school  is  supported 
by  the  Lutheran  Inner  Mission  Society  of  Minnesota  and  its 
chief  aim  is  to  train  inner  mission  and  parish  workers.  Samuel 
Miller,  a  Swedish  Lutheran,  is  the  founder  and  dean  of  the  Lu- 
theran Bible  Institute,  St.  Paul.  He  is  assisted  by  Dr.  C.  J. 
Sodergren,  formerly  a  professor  of  theology  at  Augustana  Semi- 
nary; A.  B.  Anderson,  a  pupil  of  Torrey's ;  Odd  Gornitzka,  a 
former  Norwegian  pastor  at  Seattle;  and  others.  The  manage- 
ment of  the  school  does  not  solicit  funds,  but  lays  the  case  before 


The  American  Period  399 

the  Lord,  and  He  has  so  far  furnished  the  necessary  money.  Ma- 
rius  Dixen,  a  graduate  of  Augsburg,  is  the  dean  at  Willmar,  as- 
sisted by  Dr.  B.  P.  Farness  and  others..  God  bless  the  Christian 
schools ! 

10.    Publications,  1890-1925 
The  literary  productivity  of  the  Norwegians  in  America  dur- 
ing the  third  period  as  far  outstrips  that  of  the  second  as  the 
second  surpassed  the  first.    The  writer  made 
The  Press  a  survey  of  the  Norwegian  periodicals  in  1918 

for  Professor  Rob.  E.  Park  of  the  University 
of  Chicago  and  the  Carnegie  Foundation.  He  listed  458  periodi- 
cals, distributed  as  follows : 

PERIODICALS   ACCORDING  TO   PERIODS 

Periods  Secular       Cultural     Lutheran      Non-Luth.      Total 

1847-1860 8  1  2  o  11 

1860-1890 91  25  35  18  169 

1890-1917 96 69 104 9 278 

1847-1917 195  95  141  27  458 

The  list  was  not  complete.  A  complete  list  in  1925  would 
bring  the  total  up  to  500  or  more.  This  does  not  include  the  many 
local  congregational  papers  or  the  county  and  city  papers  in  Eng- 
lish edited  by  Norwegians. 

The  increase  in  book  production  is  even  more  significant  than 
that  of  journalism.  In  the  first  period  there  was  only  one  original 
book  written  here  and  printed  here  in  America,  namely,  Krug's 
veterinary  manual  (1859).  Eielsen's  translation  of  the  Catechism 
(1841)  was  published  here  and  also  reprints  of  a  dozen  Nor- 
wegian books.  In  the  second  period  there  were  at  least  115  Lu- 
theran theological  works  and  surely  as  many  other  books  by 
Norwegians,  as  over  90  per  cent  of  the  books  printed  are  secu- 
lar. In  the  third  period  it  has  been  estimated  that  the  Nor- 
wegians have  published  approximately  3.500  books,  or  an  aver- 
age of  100  per  year.  In  1921,  according  to  "Publishers'  Week- 
ly," January  28,  1922,  the  United  States  published  8,329  new 
books,  or  one  book  to  every  12,600  inhabitants,  and  Norway 
published  949  new  books,  or  one  book  to  every  2,635  inhabi- 
tants. The  Norwegians  in  Norway  are,  then,  nearly  five  times 
as  productive  in  book  writing  as  the  people  of  America.  If  the 
Norwegians  of  America  maintain  the  average  pace  of  book  writ- 
ing in  America,  they  will  produce  166  books  a  year.  The  estimate 
of  100,  based  on  incomplete  bibliographies,  is,  then,  perhaps  not 
too  high. 

The  Norwegian  periodicals  have  been  classified  as  to  place  of 
publication,  yar  of  beginning,  year  of  discontinuation  and  cir- 
culation. 


400  Norwegian  People  in  America 

PLACE   OF   PUBLICATION    OF   PERIODICALS 

Number  of  Number  of               Number 

Periodicals  Periodicals            Existing    in 

State                                Begun  Discontinued  1917 

California  9  7  2 

Colorado     1  1  o 

Illinois     61  50  11 

Iowa     39  32  7 

Massachusetts    1  1  o 

Michigan     5  5  o 

Minnesota     153  94  59 

Montana    3  3  o 

Nebraska    3  1  2 

New  Jersey   2  2  o 

New  York   22  17  5 

North  Dakota  41  35  6 

Oregon    2  1  1 

South  Dakota  13  8  5 

Texas     1  o  1 

Utah     5  4  1 

Washington    34  28  6 

Wisconsin     58  .Si  7 

Wyoming 2  2  o 

British  Columbia    1  o  1 

Manitoba     2  1 1 

Total    458  343  115 

As  to  number  of  papers  begun  in  any  one  year  there  was  1  ac- 
credited to  1850,  0  to  1860,  10  to  1870,  7  to  1880,  22  to  1890, 
11  to  1900,  13  to  1910.  As  to  number  of  papers  discontinued  m 
any  one  year,  1850  had  2,  1860  had  1,  1870  had  8,  1880  had  7; 
1890  had  20.  1900  had  5,  1910  had  8.  As  to  the  age  of  the  Nor- 
wegian papers  in  1918: 

AGE  OF  NORWEGIAN  PAPERS 

165  were   1   year  old  or  less  10  were  from  26  to  30  years 

292  were  5  years  old  or  less  9  were  from  31  to  35  years 

68  were  from     6  to   10  years  4  were  from  36  to  40  years 

28  were  from   11  to   15  years  9  were  from  41   to  45  years 

18  were   from   16  to  20  years  3  were  from  46  to  50  years 

15  were  from  21  to  25  years  2  were  50  years  or  more 

The  two  papers  over  50  years  were  "Skandinaven,"  Chicago, 
and  "Ved  Arnen,"  Decorah,  both  established  in  1866.  If  we  could 
reckon  "Lutheraneren"  with  all  its  antecedents  as  one  paper,  then 
on  the  Conference  side  it  dates  back  to  1870  ("Lutheraneren")  ; 
on  the  Hauge  Synod  side  it  dates  back  to  1869  ("Budbaereren")  ; 
on  the  Augustana  side  it  dates  back  to  1866  ("Den  Norske  Lu- 
theraner")  ;  and  on  the  Norwegian  Synod  side  it  dates  back  to 
1851  ("Maanedstidende").  "Minneapolis  Tidende"  can  also  claim 
old  age  as  it  is  a  consolidation  of  several  smaller  papers  of 
long  ago. 

As  to  circulation  it  was  found  that  Minnesota  had  185.000 
subscribers  to  some  Norwegian  paper;  North  Dakota  had  120,000; 
Wisconsin,  85,000;  Iowa,  40,000;  South  Dakota,  35,000;  Illinois, 


The  American  Period 


401 


H.   O.    Shtirson 
Sec'y,  Trustee,  N.  L.  C 


Joseph  O.  Estrem 
Auditor,  N.  L.  C. 


M.   E.   Waldeland 
Chm.,  Transportation 


30,000;  Washington,  30,000;  New  York,  10,000;  California, 
10,000;  Michigan,  5,000;  and  Canada,  15,000;  all  other  states, 
50,000;  total,  615,000.  "Decorah  Posten"  led  with  42,478  sub- 
scribers ;  "Minneapolis  Tidende"  had  33,505 ;  "Lutheraneren," 
32,193;  "Washington  Posten,"  11,600;  "Normanden,"  8,375. 
Ayer's  "Directory"  reported  17,000  for  "Skandinaven"  in  1917; 
28,000  for  "Barnevennen" ;  7,250  for  "Duluth  Skandinav" ; 
12,250  for  "Sinner  af  Norge" ;  15,000  for  "Ungdommens  Ven" ; 
13,000  for  "Visergutten" ;  19,000  for  "Luthersk  Bomeblad" ; 
etc.  89  per  cent  of  the  papers  started  have  been  in  Norwegian 
only ;  6  per  cent  have  been  in  Norwegian  and  English ;  5  per  cent 
have  been  in  English  only. 

The  Norwegian  Press,  both  secular  and  religious,  has  done 
nobly  and  deserves  general  support  and  appreciation.  May  it  live 
and  increase  in  strength  and  influence.  As  Shakespeare  says  in 
"Henry  IV"  : 

And  tidings  do  I  bring,  and  happy  joys, 
And  golden  times,  and  happy  news  of  price. 

Or,  as  Joseph  Story  put  it  in  the  Motto  of  the  "Salem  Register" : 

Here  shall  the  Press  the  People's  right  maintain, 
Unawed  by  influence  and  unbribed  by  gain. 
Here  Patriot  Truth  her  glorious  precepts  draw, 
Pledged  to  Religion,  Liberty  and  Law. 


Olaf  Guldseth 
Sec'y,    Book    Mission 


J.  Tanner,  S.T.D. 

Sec'y  Elem.  Christian 

Education 


Olaf  Lysnes 
Sec'y.   Publication 


402  Norwegian  People  in  America 

During  the  first  period  (1825-1860),  the  Norwegians  in 
America  did  not  produce  much  literature  because  they  were  too 
busy  making  their  living  and  getting  their 
Poetry  and  Fiction  bearings.  What  they  did  produce  was  largely 
the  result  of  that  innate  and  irresponsible 
craving  for  self-expression:  "gjennem  arbeidets  gang  en  digtende 
trang,"  to  use  Bj^rnson's  happy  phrase.  That  is,  they  simply 
had  to  write,  work  or  no  work.  In  a  large  measure  this  was  true 
also  of  the  second  period  (1860-1890),  but  in  the  third  period 
(1890-1925),  the  Norwegians  are  pretty  thoroughly  Americanized, 
are  in  good  circumstances,  and  have  time  to  devote  to  literary 
pursuits.  More  of  the  young  people  go  off  to  school  to  get  a  higher 
education.  They  take  a  greater  variety  of  courses  of  study,  and 
train  themselves  for  every  kind  of  profession  and  trade.  They 
buy  more  books  and  papers,  and  read  more  than  their  fathers  and 
grandfathers  did,  although  it  can  not  be  truly  said  that  they  read 
more  thoughtfully.  The  tiny  brooklet  of  literature  which  trickled 
down  through  the  Norwegian  settlements  of  the  first  period 
swelled  into  a  respectable  brook  in  the  second  period,  and  now, 
in  the  third  period,  has  become  a  mighty  river  fed  by  many 
streams,  turning  the  wheels  of  industry,  carrying  the  ships  of 
commerce,  purifying,  refreshing  and  invigorating  the  lives  of  men. 
In  this  great  republic  there  is  also  a  republic  of  letters  in  which 
each  one  has  freedom  to  speak  up;  there  is  an  avenue  to  glory, 
possibly,  at  least  an  opportunity  to  influence  one's  fellow-men 
through  letters.  The  Norwegians  have  been  cultivating  practically 
all  the  fields  of  literature  during  this  period, — newspaper  writing, 
books  on  all  subjects,  pamphlets  and  tracts,  in  English  and  in 
Norwegian. 

The  following  poets,  fifty  in  number,  have  during  this  period 
put  on  the  market  one  or  more  volumes  each,  of  Norwegian  verse : 
Wm.  Ager,  B.  Askevold,  J.  B.  Baumann,  J.  A.  Berven,  Johs.  S. 
Bothne,  Laura  Bratager,  O.  O.  Brecke,  C.  O.  Bruflodt,  Ulrikka  F. 
Gustav  Melby,  David  Svennungsen  and  Ola  J.  Saervold  are 
Sigurd  Folkestad,  Oscar  Gundersen,  Johannes  Haarvei,  John 
Hegg,  L.  Heiberg,  O.  S.  Hervin,  Anna  M.  Holter,  Gjermund 
Hoyme,  Johannes  Holfjeld,  O.  J.  Hustoft,  Knut  Kj^s,  U.  V. 
Koren,  Olav  Kringen,  Thorleif  Larsen,  Ludvig  Lima,  Otto  Lock, 
N.  N.  Minne,  J.  Mortensen,  Anders  Neppelberg,  Jon  Norstog, 
Johan  Olsen,  Johan  Ovren,  Palma  Pederson,  Franklin  Petersen, 
Wilhelm  M.  Pettersen,  Kristian  Prestgard,  J.  Rasmussen,  Olav 
Refsdal,  R.  O.  Reine,  D.  G.  Ristad,  K.  K.  Rudie,  P.  Smedsrud, 
O.  S.  Sneve,  C.  K.  Solberg,  Peer  O.  Stromme,  Knut  M.  O.  Teigen 
and  Agnes  M.  Wergeland.  Anna  Emilia  Bagstad,  Th.  M.  Bakke, 
Gustav  Melby,  David  Svennungsen  and  Ola  J.  Saervold,  are 
among  the  few  who  have  published  volumes  of  English  verse. 
Selecting  fifty  of  the  books  of   Norwegian  verse,   the  writer 


The  American  Period 


403 


J0rgen   Nordby 
Eastern  District 


I.  T.  Aastad 
N.  Minn.  District 


C.  J.  Eastvold 
S.    Minn.    District 


found  that  quantitatively  they  contain  6,180  pages,  or  123.6  pages 
to  the  book.  Jon  Norstog  was  the  author  of  seven  of  these 
volumes,  totaling  2,345  pages.  Sigurd  Folkestad  had  written  three 
of  the  books,  a  total  of  345  pages.  Agnes  M.  Wergeland  had 
written  two  of  the  books,  435  pages.  The  output  of  these  three 
authors,  then,  comprised  more  than  one-half  of  the  pile  examined. 
Qualitatively,  these  three  are  among  the  best  Norwegian-Ameri- 
can writers  of  poetry.  Of  the  same  rank  in  excellence  some  would 
place  J.  B.  Baumann,  Wilhelm  M.  Pettersen,  D.  G.  Ristad,  C.  K. 
Solberg,  C.  O.  Solberg,  G.  T.  Rygh,  J.  J.  Sko'rdalsvold,  Knut  M. 
O.  Teigen  and  Peer  O.  Strp'mme.  Johannes  Holfjeld  is  a  very 
promising  writer,  also.  Jon  Norstog  stands  head  and  shoulders 
above  all  the  other  Norwegian-American  writers.  He  is  Ibsen- 
esque.  He  writes  mainly  in  the  Telemarken  dialect.  For  that 
reason  his  books  are  not  as  popular  as  they  deserve  to  be  and  do 
not  find  a  great  sale,  but  they  are  wonderful  books.  Their  themes 
are  Biblical.  The  workmanship  is  astounding.  His  first  book, 
"Moses,"  published  in  1914,  was  a  drama  in  five  acts,  531  pages. 
The  second  one,  "Natten,"  1917,  a  drama  in  five  acts,  had  135 
pages.    The  third  book,  "Israel,"  1917,  a  drama  in  twelve  acts, 


L.  C.  Foss 
Pacific  District 


A.   M.   Skindlov 
Rocky  Mt.  District 

District  Presidents  of  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church 


J.  A.   E.   Naess 
Pacific  District 


404 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


N.  J.  L0hre  Erik  Waldeland  G.  T.  Rygh,  Litt.D. 

Sec'y,  Norw.  Luth.  Ch.    Treas.,  Norw.  I.uth.  Ch.    Pres.,    English    Assoc. 

comprises  885  pages.  The  fourth  book,  "Joseph/'  was  an  epic 
poem  of  135  pages,  issued  in  1918.  The  fifth  book,  "Tone,"  1920, 
a  drama  of  270  pages.  The  sixth,  "King  Saul,"  1920,  a  drama  of 
208  pages;  and  the  seventh  "King  David,"  1923,  181  pages;  also 
"Kain,"  a  drama,  said  to  be  a  very  large  work.  The  work  of 
Norstog  is  more  remarkable  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  is 
a  farmer  and  that  he  not  only  writes  his  books,  but  he  sets  the 
type,  prints  them  and  binds  them  with  his  own  hands.  His 
wife  is  Inga  Bredesen,  a  daughter  of  the  pioneer  pastor  of 
Stoughton,  Adolf  Bredesen.  She  has  an  A.M.  from  the  University 
of  Wisconsin,  is  a  former  fellow  of  the  American-Scandinavian 
Foundation,  and  has  been  teacher  of  Norwegian  in  the  Minneapolis 
Central  High  School. 

Ola  J.  Saervold,  in  1894,  while  a  student  at  Luther  College, 
published  an  epic  poem,  "Erling,"  which  gave  promise  of  much 
good  poetry  from  his  pen.  Saervold,  unfortunately,  did  not  con- 
tinue the  work  of  writing  poetry.  He  became  a  journalist  and 
lecturer.  He  returned  to  his  home  at  Strandvik,  Norway,  in  1899, 
and  took  up  the  work  of  running  his  father's  farm  according  to 
American  farming  methods.    He  was  somewhat  disappointed  at 


H.  C.  Holm 
Iowa   District 


T.   D.   Ylvisaker 
N.  Dak.   District 


N.   N.   B0e 
S.  Dak.  District 


District  Presidents  of  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church 


The  American  Period  405 

the  results,  and  returned  to  America.  He  is  now  a  globe  trotter, 
journalist  and  lecturer.  Gustav  Melby  is  the  most  prolific  and 
successful  of  the  Norwegians  writing  poetry  in  English.  His  first 
book,  "The  Seamless  Robe,"  is  a  collection  of  lyrics  appearing 
in  1914.  The  next  one,  entitled  "King  St.  Olaf,"  is  a  drama  in 
five  acts,  published  in  1916.  Number  three  "The  "Lost  Chimes, 
and  Other  Poems,"  is  a  fine  bouquet  of  lyrics,  1918.  The  fourth 
volume,  "Twilight,"  is  a  collection  of  lyrics  from  1921.  Success 
to  thee,  Rev.  Gustav  Melby! 

A  large  number  of  people  have  written  occasional  verse,  and 
the  Norwegian-American  Press  is  pretty  well  dotted  with  short 
poems  of  this  kind.    Here  are : 

Roses  red  and  violets  blue 

And  all  the  sweetest  flowers  that  in  the  forest  grew. 

And  yet,  many  of  them  are  destined  like  the  wild  rose  to  blush 
unseen,  unless  some  lover  of  poetry  takes  the  time  to  gather  them 
into  appropriate  volumes,  such  as,  Kristian  Prestgard's  "Norske 
Kvad"  and  Ludvig  Lima's  "Norsk-Amerikanske  Digte  i  Udvalg," 
or,  could  not  each  one  who  has  been  writing  occasional  verse,  col- 
lect what  he  himself  has  written,  such  as  Peer  StroYnme  for- 
tunately did  with  his  fugitive  poems  before  he  died?  Stro'mme's 
little  volume,  "Digte,"  contains  only  84  pages,  but  is  worth  its 
weight  in  gold,  being  the  best  selection  of  poems  from  the  long 
literary  career  of  this  remarkable  man.  Strp'mme  was  the  Mark 
Twain  among  the  Norwegians,  and,  though  his  life  was  full  of 
hard  knocks,  he  was  always  the  optimist,  and  his  poems  reflect  the 
struggle  between  light  and  darkness  in  his  own  life,  but,  as  Dryden 
says,  in  his  "Art  of  Poetry" : 

HaPPy>  who  in  his  verse  can  gently  steer 
From  grave  to  light,  from  pleasant  to  severe. 

Fiction  has  the  same  place  among  the  Norwegians  as  among 
the  rest  of  mankind.  It  is  the  most  popular  style  of  writing  ever 
invented.  Story  telling  has  always  been  popular  and  the  desire 
is  deep-rooted  in  all  of  us  to  hear  some  new  thing,  and  to  tell 
again  something  deserving  remembrance.  By  fiction  is  here  meant 
any  story,  short  or  long,  true  or  false,  real  or  imaginary,  romantic, 
realistic,  naturalistic,  idealistic.  The  Norwegian  writers  have  not 
plunged  headlong  into  fiction  writing.  The  modern  novel  and  the 
short  story  are  relatively  quite  recent  types  of  literature,  although 
story  telling  is  as  old  as  the  race  itself.  The  Norwegians  seem 
to  have  hesitated  in  taking  up  this  new  form.  During  this  period, 
however,  a  goodly  number  of  them  have  been  trying  their  hands 
at  novel  writing,  and  it  is  quite  easy  to  list  at  least  100  names  of 
Norwegians  who  have  published  works  of  fiction.  Here  are  fifty 
names:  Wm.  Ager,  A.  E.  Anderson,  J.  W.  Arctander,  B.  Aske- 
vold,  B.  Aslagsson,  J.  A.  Bergh,  H.  Bottelson,  Laura  Bratager, 


406 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Ulrikka  F.  Bruun,  O.  A.  Buslett,  Dorthea  Dahl,  Lena  Dahl,  P.  C. 
Danielson,  Hans  A.  Foss,  M.  Falk  Gjertsen,  G.  T.  Hagen,  Haldor 
J.  Hanson,  Thor  Helgesen,  Albert  Houeland,  Ole  Hustoft,  Simon 
Johnson,  H.  B.  Kildahl,  J.  N.  Kildahl,  Gunnar  Kleven,  Olav  Krin- 
gen,  A.  P.  Lea,  John  O.  Lie,  Otto  Lock,  F.  Lunde,  J.  E.  Lp'beck, 
H.  LpVik,  A.  H.  Mason,  E.  L.  Mengshoel,  Jon  Norstog,  Torkel 
Oftelie,  O.  O.  Odegaard,  O.  Br.  Olsen,  Palma  Pederson,  Franklin 
Petersen,  Olav  Refsdal,  Jacob  Rivedal,  Sigv.  Rp'dvik,  O.  E.  Rpl- 
vaag,  N.  N.  Running,  Ole  Shefveland,  Peer  O.  Stro'mme,  K.  M. 
O.  Teigen,  T.  K.  Thorvilson,  D.  J.   O.  Westheim,  J.  B.  Wist. 


Ole  E.  Hofstad  Nels  N.  T0sseland  S.  O.  Simundsen 

(Hofstad  baptized,  T0sseland  confirmed,  Simundsen  married  the  author) 

The  author  took  down  from  his  shelves  100  volumes  written 
by  84  Norwegian-American  novelists.  These  books  had  a  sum  total 
of  17,908  pages,  or  179  pages  per  book.  They  were  all  in  Norwe- 
gian. In  the  front  rank  of  these  Norwegian  writers,  he  would 
place  Waldemar  Ager,  Hans  A.  Foss,  Simon  Johnson,  O.  E. 
Rplvaag,  N.  N.  Running,  Peer  O.  Stromme,  Knut  M.  O.  Teigen, 
and  J.  B.  Wist.  The  two  Kildahls  never  really  tried  to  write 
stories.  They  are  theologians  and  churchmen  busy  with  a  multi- 
plicity of  duties,  but  they  have  done  everything  well  that  they  have 
attempted  to  do,  including,  of  course,  their  one  attempt  to  tell 
something  in  story  form.  J.  N.  Kildahl's  "Naar  Jesus  Kommer 
ind  i  Huset,"  has  been  one  of  the  most  widely  read  books  published 
by  a  Norwegian,  as  popular  as  Peer  Strp'mme's  "Hvorledes  Hal- 
vor  Blev  Prest."  Kildahl's  book  has  been  translated  into  English 
and  bears  the  title  "When  Jesus  Enters  the  Home."  H.  B.  Kil- 
dahl's book,  "His  Workshop,"  is  not  quite  so  pretentious,  but 
makes  good  reading.  If  the  popularity  of  a  person  is  to  be  judged 
by  the  character  of  editorials  written  about  him  during  his  life 
and  at  his  death,  and  by  the  number  of  poems  which  at  his  death 
are  lovingly  placed  like  floral  emblems  upon  his  coffin,  then  it  is 
quite  evident  that  no  Norwegian-American  has  been  more  beloved 
than  was  Dr.  John  Nathan  Kildahl. 


The  American  Period 


407 


This  period  bore  a  fruitful  harvest  in  religious  literature  in 
both  languages.  At  least  a  thousand  important  books  in  most 
branches  of  theology  were  written  by  Nor- 
Religious  Books  wegian  -  Americans.  Quite  extensive  biblio- 
graphies of  these  can  be  found  in  O.  M. 
Norlie's  "Norsk  Lutherske  Prester  i  Amerika,  1843-1915,"  "Lu- 
theran World  Almanac  for  1922,"  and  "Cumulative  Catalog  of 
Lutheran  Books  in  the  English  Language." 


T.  O.   Tolo 

A  country  pastor 

Locust.  Iowa 


H.  B.  Thorgrimsen 
An  Icelandic  pastor 
among  the  Norwe- 
gians,   N.   Dak. 


O.  S.  Reigstad 

A   city  pastor 

Minneapolis,  Minn. 


There   has   been  considerable   activity   in   all   departments   of 

thought.    A   few  illustrations  will  suffice:   In  biology,   including 

botany  and  zoology,  are  such  writers  as  Hanna 

Secular  Books  C.  Aase,  H.  T.  K.  Agersborg,  I.  E.  Melhus, 

J.  P.  Munson,  Aven  Nelson,  P.  O.  Okkelberg, 

C.  O.  Rosendahl  and  Leonhard  Stejneger. 

In  physics  such  names  as  H.  A.  Erikson  and  L.  O.  Grpndahl. 

In  chemistry:  Edward  X.  Anderson,  E.  O.  Ellingson,  P.  M. 
Glaso'e,  L.  M.  Henderson,  C.  M.  Knutson,  J.  C.  Olsen  and  F. 
W.  Woll. 

In  astronomy :  John  A.  Anderson. 

In  geology :  Thomas  M.  Dale,  F.  W.  Sardeson  and  Knud 
Throndsen. 

In  ethnology:  F.  I.  Monsen. 

In  physiology :  Ole  O.  Stoland. 

In  medicine :  Ludvig  Hektoen,  F.  Voss  Mohn,  Carl  M.  Roan, 
M.  N.  Voldeng. 

In  dentistry:  Alfred  Owre  and  Erling  Thoen. 

In  agriculture :  Peter  Hendrickson,  T.  A.  Hoverstad,  James 
Johnson,  Carl  W.  Larson,  J.  A.  Widtsoe. 

In  business:  S.  P.  Ronnei  and  Harry  R.  Tosdal. 

In  military  science  and  life :  Alfred  Wm.  Bj^rnstad  and  Gran- 
ville Gutterson. 


408  Norivegian  People  in  America 

In  law:  John  W.  Arctander,  Henry  Gjertsen  and  Lauritz  Void. 

In  sociology:  H.  C.  Anderson,  B.  A.  Arneson,  J.  E.  Granrud, 
A.  Furuseth,  Ole  Hanson,  A.  J.  Lien,  M.  Mikkelsen,  R.  S.  Saby, 
Chas  E.  Stangeland,  T.  K.  Urdahl  and  Thorstein  Veblen. 

In  temperance:  Gustav  Eide,  H.  A.  Foss,  B.  B.  Haugan,  J.  L. 
Nydahl,   Elias  Rachie,  J.  J.   SkoYdalsvold  and  Andreas  Wright. 

In  library  science :  Thorstein  Jahr  and  Thorvald  Solberg. 

In  art  and  architecture:  Olaf  Glasoe,  J.  E.  Granrud,  Michael 
Mikkelsen  and  A.  M.  Sundheim. 

In  travels :  J.  A.  Berven,  K.  B.  Birkeland,  P.  O.  Langseth  and 
W.  M.  Pettersen. 

In  philology:  A.  R.  Anderson,  L.  I.  Bredvold,  A.  E.  Egge, 
P.  J.  Eikeland,  Nils  Flaten,  George  T.  Flom,  Andrew  Fossum,  L. 
O.  Fossum,  Knut  Gjerset,  S.  N.  Hagen,  J.  A.  Holvik,  Thorleif 
O.  Homme,  Maren  Michelet,  O.  M.  Norlie,  J.  A.  Ness,  O.  M. 
Peterson,  O.  E.  Rolvaag  and  A.  M.  Rovelstad. 

In  literary  criticism:  S.  B.  Hustvedt,  Hanna  Astrup  Larsen, 
Henning  Larsen,  O.  M.  Norlie,  Julius  E.  Olson,  Oscar  L.  Olson, 
M.  B.  Ruud. 

In  domestic  science :  Lilla  Frich. 

In  engineering :  M.  C.  Ihlseng  and  Peder  Lobben. 

In  mathematics:  J.  O.  Eiesland,  Hans  Dalaker,  Peter  Field, 
Peder  Lobben,  Martin  A.  Nordgaard,  A.  L.  Nelson,  Theodore 
R.  Running,  Oswald  Veblen  and  Edvard  Skille. 

In  statistics:  Carl  G.  O.  Hansen,  John  Hjellum,  John  Koren, 
O.  M.  Norlie  and  Oscar  H.  Reinholt. 

In  education:  David  A.  Anderson,  David  E.  Berg,  H.  W. 
Foght,  Martin  Hegland,  Andreas  Helland,  C.  B.  Larson,  Knut 
L^kensgaard,  O.  M.  Norlie,  Sven  Strand,  O.  A.  Tingelstad  and 
L.  A.  Vigness. 

In  musical  theory  and  history:  Maja  Bang  Hoehn,  F.  Melius 
Christiansen,  John  Dahle,  Knud  Henderson,  Erik  Jensen,  O.  M. 
Norlie,  Peter  H.  P.  Rydning. 

In  history:  W.  I.  Brandt,  H.  W.  Elson,  B.  J.  Hovde,  M.  L. 
Hansen,  Paul  Knaplund,  Laurence  Marcellus  Larson,  Bert  L. 
Wick. 

In  Norwegian  history:  R.  B.  Anderson,  A.  O.  Barton,  Theo- 
dore Blegen,  Juul  Dieserud,  John  O.  Evjen,  A.  O.  Fonkalsrud, 
Andrew  Fossum,  Knut  Gjerset,  John  O.  Hall,  Carl  G.  O.  Hansen, 
Einar  Hilsen,  J.  Hjellum,  H.  R.  Holand,  J.  O.  Hougen,  T.  A. 
HoVerstad,  P.  P.  Iverslie,  Thorstein  Jahr,  Hans  Jervell,  J.  S. 
Johnson,  O.  S.  Johnson,  P.  O.  Langseth,  Gabriel  Loftf jeld,  A.  E. 
Norman,  O.  M.  Norlie,  Halvor  Skavlan,  Harry  Sundby-Hansen, 
A.  M.  Sundheim,  Knut  Takla,  Martin  Ulvestad,  Andrew  A. 
Veblen  and  J.  U.  Pedersen. 

In  Norwegian  church  history:  J.  A.  Bergh,  Adolph  Bredesen, 
N.  C.  Brun,  K.  O.  Eittreim,  John  O.  Evjen,  Halvor  Halvorsen, 
Andreas  Helland,  O.  M.  Norlie,  E.  M.  Stensrud  and  K.  B. 
Birkeland. 


The  American  Period 


409 


In  psychology :  Julius  Boraas,  E. 
O.  M.  Norlie. 


M.  Broen,  CD.  Larson  and 


Publishing 
Houses 


Lack  of  space  prevents  any  adequate  story  of  the  publication 
houses.  The  Augsburg  Publishing  House  is  the  largest,  but  a 
dozen  or  score  of  other  concerns  are  just  as 
worthy  of  honorable  mention,  as:  The  Luther- 
an Free  Church  Book  Concern  (since  1920 
called  the  Lutheran  Free  Church  Book  Con- 
cern), the  K.  C  Holter  Publishing  Co.  (1890-1923),  the  Chris- 
tian Literature  Co.,  the  Lutheran  Publishing  House,  the  Waisen- 
hus  Press,  the  John  Anderson  Publishing  Co.,  the  John  G.  Mohn 
Publishing  Co.,  the  J.  J.  Fuhr  Publishing  Co.,  the  Norrpna  Pub- 
lishing Co.,  the  Hauge  Synod  Book  Department,  and  many  others. 

A  few  remarks  about 
Augsburg  Publishing  House 
will  indicate  the  character  of 
the  work  of  most  of  these 
concerns.  Back  of  its  foun- 
dation is  the  belief  in  the 
power  of  the  written  word, 
especially  the  Bible.  Almost 
every  synod,  society  and  in- 
stitution feels  the  need  of  an 
official  organ,  reports,  peri- 
odicals, books,  pictures,  etc., 
and  with  this  need  comes  the 
demand  for  a  printing  house. 
Augsburg  Publishing  House  was  incorporated  in  1890  and  was 
the  printery  of  the  United  Norwegian  Church.  It  was  a  union 
of  two  older  establishments — from  N.orthfield  and  Minneapolis, 
and  a  third,  at  Rushford,  ceased  also  to  exist  through  this 
union.  The  managers  of  Augsburg  have  been :  Lars  Swenson, 
1890-1904;  Erik  Waldeland,  1904-1917;  A.  M.  Sundheim, 
1917 — .  The  House  employs  about  100  men  and  women  in 
its  offices  and  shops,  and  is  also  the  headquarters  for  the  officials 
and  boards  of  the  synod  that  operates  it,  since  1917  the  Norwe- 
gian Lutheran  Church.  It  is  a  very  busy  place  day  and  night  and 
the  center  of  the  Norwegian  Church.  It  is  no  doubt  the  most  im- 
portant spot  in  the  Norway  of  America.  In  1914  it  was  said  in 
the  Jubilee  book  of  the  United  Norwegian  Church  that  the  output 
of  Augsburg  every  week  varied  from  50,000  to  100,000  pounds 
of  printed  matter.  It  is  the  most  productive  Norwegian  printing 
shop  in  the  world.  In  1890  its  net  valuation  was  $16,404.97 ;  in 
1913,  $208,776.48;  and  in  1925,  $465,731.94.  In  1891  its  net 
profits  were  $2,399.54;  in  1913,  $22,948.26;  in  1924,  $29,677.45. 
Its    total    income    in    1900    was    $56,892.87;    in     1919    it    was 


Augsburg  Publishing  House, 
.    Minneapolis 


410 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


$512,599.31— $189,913.92  for  books,  $221,786.30  for  job  work, 
and  $100,899.09  for  papers.  It  is  rated  by  Dun  as  a  concern  con- 
servatively worth  more  than  $1,000,000.00  and  has  Dun's  highest 
rating-  as -to  credit.  Several  have  been  connected  with  the  insti- 
tution over  20  years :  A.  M.  Sundheim  and  J.  A.  Anderson,  35 
years ;  Erik  Waldeland  and  Alfred  C.  Haugen,  27  years ;  Oscar 
C.  Fremo  and  Nels  Johnson,  23  years.  The  following  are  heads 
of  departments : 

A.  M.  Sundheim,  manager,  1890 — ;  P.  A.  Hovland,  printing 
manager,   1924 — ;  A.  J.  Anderson,  mgr.  book  department,   1890 


J.  A.   Bergh 

Hospital  Missionary 

and  Historian 


Theodore  C.  Blegen 

Professor   of   History 

and  Librarian 


L.  Lillehei 

Theologian  and 

Author 


(1884) — ;  Einar  Josephsen,  mgr.  advertising  dept.,   1920 — ;  O. 
C.    Fremo,    office     mgr.,    1902 — ;     R.    Skabo,    circulation    mgr., 


1924 — ;  Ed.  Bergum,  shipping  mgr.,  1915 — ;  George  Lindstrom, 
billing  mgr.,  1908 — ;  H.  G.  Meyer,  composing  room  mgr.,  1923 — ; 
A.  Bergs^brenden,  chief  Norwegian  proofreader;  J.  J.  Skpr- 
dalsvold,  chief  English  proofreader;  Fred  Carlson,  press  mgr.; 
W.  E.  Taylor,  folding  mgr. ;  Phil.  Greffin,  binding  mgr. ;  Law- 
rence Johnson,  paper  stock  mgr.,  1916" — ;  Nels  Johnson  mail- 
ing mgr. 

A.  M.  Sundheim  was  born  in  Valdres,  Norway,  Oct.  25,  1861. 
Came  to  America  in  1878.  In  1879  he  entered  the  printing  world. 
Was  publisher  at  Madison,  Wis.,  and  San  Francisco,  Cal.  In 
1890  he  became  asst.  manager  at  Augsburg;  in  1917,  manager. 
He  has  been  treasurer  and  president  of  the  Valdris  Samband,  the 
Lutheran  Publishing  House  Managers'  Assn.;  treasurer  of  the 
Norwegian-Danish  Press  Assn.,  the  Mindegaven  Assn.,  and  the 
General  Council  of  Bygdelags.  He  has  been  a  good  member  of 
Bethlehem  Cong.,  Minneapolis,  having  held  many  offices  of  trust. 
Every  task  in  his  hands  is  handled  conscientiously.  He  has  been 
found  faithful  in  little  things  and  in  great.  He  has  wide  cultural 
interests,  as  is  shown,  for  example,  by  the  Christmas  annual,  "Jm1 
i  Vesterheimen,"  which  he  has  edited  since   1911.     There  have 


The  American  Period  411 

been  100  attempts  to  establish  a  Norwegian  cultural  magazine  in 
America  and  nearly  all  have  failed  through  lack  of  support.  Sund- 
heim,  with  his  stubborn  perseverance,  keen  business  sense  and  fine 
artistic  taste,  has  made  "Jul  i  Vesterheimen"  an  international 
event.  He  is  a  lover  of  the  out-door  life,  and  there  are  few 
wild  spots  in  North  America  that  he  has  not  seen.  On  May  22, 
1925,  two  of  his  children,  Marcus  and  Borghild,  were  elected  mem- 
bers of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  at  the  University  of  Minnesota,  the 
highest  scholastic  honors  conferred  by  the  University.  His  oldest 
daughter,  Marie,  also  attained  to  this  distinction.  As  a  friend 
he  is  faithful  and  true. 

N.  N.  Running,  the  manager  of  the  Christian  Literature  Co., 
was  born  May  17,  1870,  in  Telemarken,  Norway.  Emigrated, 
1887.  Started  to  go  to  school  at  Faribault.  They  looked  him  over 
and  put  him  in  the  kindergarten.  The  17-year-old  boy  was  tall 
and  the  teacher  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  his  legs.  After  due 
consultation  with  her  superintendent  she  promoted  Nels  to  1st 
grade.  He  was  brighter  than  he  looked,  so  he  kept  on  advancing 
a  grade  a  day  until  he  reached  the  high  school.  When  spring  ar- 
rived he  was  in  the  senior  class.  He  has  the  distinction  of  having 
completed  nine  grades  in  one  year,  and  of  becoming  president  of 
the  senior  class  and  licking  the  biggest  bully  of  the  school.  He  is 
a  Master  of  Arts  from  the  University  of  Minnesota,  has  been  edi- 
tor of  Holter's  publications  since  1899  and  also  business  manager. 
Is  interested  in  Sunday  schools,  Luther  leagues,  foreign  missions, 
evangelization,  charity  work,  etc.  A  wide  awake  man,  a  great 
force  for  good.  His  "Experiences  of  a  Newcomer,"  "Bare  for 
Moro,"  "Abraham  Lincoln"  and  "Gutten  fra  Norge"  are  samples 
from  his  fruitful,  brilliant  pen. 

Waldemar  Ager,  editor  of  "Reform,"  has  found  time  to  con- 
duct the  Sigvald  Qvale  Norwegian  declamatory  contests.  Mrs. 
Anna  Qvale  established  a  legacy  for  such  contests,  in  memory  of 
her  son.   Over  200  contests  have  been  held. 

It  is  considered  an  honor  to  write  a  good  book;  it  should  be 
considered  an  honor  to  go  out  and  sell  it  as  a  book  agent.    The 

general  public  does  not  give  the  book  agent 
Book  Agents  a  very  glad  hand  and  the   Norwegian  people 

have  been  slow  in  trying  to  sell  their  wares 
through  agents.  They  even  hesitate  to  place  their  books  and 
papers  in  their  own  city  and  school  libraries. 

Augsburg  Publishing  House  is  the  largest  publishing  house  of 
the  Norwegian  people  and  the  biggest  publishing  plant  in  Minne- 
apolis, and  yet  it  is  a  question  whether  the  Minneapolis  City 
Library  has  a  single  book  published  by  this  great  house  by  and 
about  Norwegians.  It  is  largely  the  fault  of  the  Norwegians 
themselves  who  are  a  modest  people,  and  do  not  demand  that  their 


412 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


literature  be  placed  in  public  libraries.  Canton,  S.  Dak.,  is  a 
strong  Norwegian  community,  no  finer  in  the  state.  The  City 
Library  was  presented  with  103  volumes  of  Norwegian  classics. 
The  Library  refused  to  accept  books  in  the  Norwegian  language 
— year  1920.  The  Norwegians  meekly  acquiesced.  They  make 
up  80  per  cent  of  the  population  in  that  town.  Occasionally,  some 
Norwegian  man  or  woman  feels  the  call  to  become  an  agent  can- 
vassing books  and  papers.  It  is  part  of  the  work  of  the  Church  to 
do  so,  it  is  a  noble  and  needed  calling.  This  history  has  pictures 
of  three  such  agents — F.  L.  Tro'nsdal,  Julius  J.  Hopperstad  and 
Taaraand  Vik.    Tro'nsdal  was  trained  as  a  lawyer,  but  saw  the 


G.  B.  Wollan 
Journalist 


J.    E.   L0beck 
Bible  Teacher 


T.   C.   Wollan 
Mathematician 


need  of  getting  Bibles  into  every  home,  so  he  has  dedicated  his  life 
to  this  work — and  temperance  speaking.  Hopperstad,  a  refined 
poet  and  choir  director,  spent  40  years  of  his  life  as  circulation 
manager  of  "Decorah  Posten"  and  "Lutheraneren."  Taaraand 
Vik,  a  parochial  school  ma'am,  is  an  exceptional  agent.  She 
secured  1,172  new  subscriptions  to  church  papers  and  sold  2,435 
"Menighetskalenders"  (a  $10.00  work)  in  1918-1922,  while  work- 
ing only  part  time.  G.  O.  Oudal,  Minneapolis,  has  the  largest 
second  hand  theological  book  store  in  America,  if  not  in  the  world. 
Theological  works  in  all  languages. 

A  few  years  ago,  when  Harding's  speech  at  the  funeral  of  the 
unknown  soldier  was  heard  by  wireless  in  San  Francisco,  the 
people  marvelled.  Now  the  novelty  has  worn  off,  for  nearly  every- 
body has  his  radio.  But -radio  is  just  as  marvellous  today  as  if 
it  were  new.  So  it  is  with  the  printed  word.  That,  too,  is  a  sort 
of  radio,  and  thousands  of  years  ago,  books  flashed  the  greatest 
messages  around  the  world  and  across  the  centuries.  Books  are 
more  wonderful  than  radio  or  movie  or  phonograph.  The  moving 
pictures  of  the  past  are  thrown  upon  the  screen  of  our  minds 
through  books.  The  sweetest  rhythms  of  long  ago  are  sung  to  our 
inner  ear. 


The  American  Period 


413 


Dr.  T.  R.  Chow  and  Family, 

Kioshan,  China 

A    Christian 

Daughters   Seem   As   Good   to    Him 

As  Sons 


11.    Foreign  Missions,  1890-1925 

The  Norwegian  Lutherans  have  never  been  anxious  to  prose- 
lyte among  other  Christian  denominations.    They  have,  however, 

distinguished  themselves  for 
their  missionary  zeal  among 
those  who  do  not  have  the 
Gospel.  Leif  Erikson  was  sent 
to  Greenland  by  King  Olaf 
Trygvasson  to  Christianize  it, 
and  he  succeeded.  Except  for 
this  work  which  had  to  be  per- 
formed, he  might  have  become 
a  permanent  settler  in  Vin- 
land,  which  he  discovered. 
Hans  Egede  came  to  Green- 
land in  1721  as  a  missionary, 
72  years  before  William 
Carey,  the  Baptist,  went  as  a 
missionary  to  India.  The  old- 
est Protestant  mission  in  the 
world  was  the  Norwegian  mission  among  the  Lapps,  begun  while 
Luther  was  still  in  the  heat  of  the  battle  for  a  more  Biblical  reli- 
gion and  a  more  Christian  order  of  things.  The  Norwegian  Mis- 
sionary Society,  organized  in  1842,  is  one  of  the  most  successful 
missionary  organizations  in 
the  world. 

The   Norwegian   Lutherans 
of   America  began  to  support 
foreign   m  i  s- 
The  Fields  sions     almost 

as  soon  as 
they  were  organized  into 
synods.  P.  A.  Rasmussen  an- 
nounces in  his  "Kirkelig  Ti- 
dende"  (Church  Times)  for 
April,  1859,  that  he  had  re- 
ceived $118.00  in  1857  and 
$223.02  in  1858,  which  he  had 
forwarded  to  the  Hermanns- 
burg  and  Leipzig  Mission  so- 
cieties. The  synods  did  not  at 
first  have  their  own  foreign 
mission  fields.  They  support- 
ed societies  already  existing. 
The   Norwegian   Synod  aided 


Abraham,    the    Malagasy, 
His  Bible 


Reading 


414 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


the  Norwegian  Missionary  Society  in  Madagascar  and  Zululand, 
and  the  Missouri  Synod  in  its  work  among  the  Indians  and 
Negroes.  The  Augustana  Synod  sent  its  contributions  to  the  Gen- 
eral Council  East  India  missions.  The  Conference  aided  the  Nor- 
wegian Missionary  Society,  and  this  caused  the  Norwegian  Synod 
to  withdraw  its  support  and  align  itself  with  the  Schreuder  Mission 
in  Zululand  and  Natal.  In  1878  a  Jewish  mission  society  was 
founded  by  J.  P.  Gjertsen  and  Sven  Rud  Gunnersen,  called  the 
Zion  Society  for  Israel.  It  began  work  in  Egypt  and  Palestine, 
but   especially  in   Russia   and   the   United    States.    The   United 


Norwegian  Mission  Church  at  Manambaro,  Madasgascar 


Church  in  1892,  and  the  Lutheran  Free  Church  in  1895,  secured 
their  own  mission  fields  in  southern  Madagascar.  The  Norwegian- 
American  China  Society  was  organized  in  1890,  and  a  few  years 
later  its  fields  in  Honan  and  Hupeh  were  taken  over  by  the  Hauge 
Synod  and  the  United  Church.  The  Lutheran  Brethren  estab- 
lished themselves  in  Honan  in  1902;  the  Norwegian  Synod,  in 
1912;  and  the  Lutheran  Free  Church,  in  1914.  The  Santal  Mission 
of  the  Northern  Churches,  which  had  been  begun  by  Bp'rresen  and 
Skrefsrud  in  Santalistan,  India,  in  1867,  began  to  receive  weighty 
support  from  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  of  the  United  Church  and 
the  Free  Church,  especially  after  1893,  when  a  Santal  Committee 
was  elected  to  represent  the  United  States.  The  Norwegian  Synod 
began  work  among  the  American  Indians  of  Wisconsin  in  1884; 
the  Eielsen  Synod  began  in  1893.  The  Norwegian  Synod  sent 
its  first  missionary  to  the  Eskimos  of  Alaska  in  1894. 


The  American  Period 


415 


From  1891  to  1901  the  Norwegian  Synod  kept  a  missionary 
stationed  at  Salt  Lake  City  to  win  back  the  Mormons  to  Lutheran- 
ism.  Three  attempts  have  been  made  to  start  a  mission  in  the  Near 
East — in  1878  at  Jerusalem,  by  the  Zion  Society  for  Israel;  in 
1895  to  1909,  at  Urmia,  Persia,  by  the  Chaldean  Mission  Society ; 
in  1910  at  Soujboulak,  Kurdistan,  by  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Orient  Mission  Society.  Since  1915  the  Sudan  Mission  Society 
has  labored  zealously  for  the  planting  of  the  Gospel  in  Madagas- 
car, Zululand  and  Natal,  South  Africa,  and  the  Sudan,  West 
Africa.  The  Jewish  work  is  still  conducted  by  the  Zion  Society. 
The  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  has  assigned  the  work  among 
the  Eskimos,  Indians  and  Negroes  to  its  Home  Mission  Board. 


Erik    A.    SjzSvik  Daniel    Nelson  O.   R.  Wold,  D.  D. 

Foreign  Missionaries  to  China 

P.   A.    Rasmussen,   Laur.   Larsen,   Ole  Waldeland,   John   P. 
Gjertsen,  Sven  R.  Gunnersen  stand  among  the  first  Norwegian- 
American     exponents     of     foreign     missions. 
Mission  Leaders  Hans   Martin   Saeterlie  has  served  longest  as 

secretary  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board 
— since  1904.  He  has  written  several  books  on  missions — "Til 
Guds  Riges  Fremme"  (1910),  "Madagaskar"  (1912),  "The  For- 
eign Missions  of  the  United  Church,  1890-1915"  (1917).  He  has 
edited  two  mission  papers  (1895-1904)  and  has  furnished  the 
church  papers  with  news  of  the  foreign  mission  work  for  30 
years.  Another  prominent  mission  promoter  is  the  Rev.  J.  R. 
Birkelund,  M.D.,  who  has  been  an  emissary  and  secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Norwegian  Church  since  1917. 
He  was  born  in  Denmark,  has  been  a  missionary  in  Japan  (1892- 
1897,  1900-1902),  a  home  missionary  in  Chicago  (1891-1892)  and 
Wisconsin  (1902-1905),  a  city  missionary  in  Chicago  (1905-1917), 
and  a  mission  inspector  in  China  (1912-1913).  Lars  Lund,  Elroy, 
Wisconsin,  was  the  treasurer  of  the  foreign  missions  of  the  Con- 
ference, 1881-1890,  of  the  United  Church  1890-1917,  and  of  the 
Zion  Society,  1881-1924.  Peder  Tangjerd  was  a  good  friend  of 
the  missions  and  mission  treasurer  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran 


416 


Nonvegian  People  in  America 


Church  1917-1923.  Professor  Georg  Sverdrup  started  the 
Madagascar  mission  movement  among  the  Norwegian-Ameri- 
cans. He  supported  it  with  great  energy  through  the  mission 
paper  "Gasseren."  John  H.  Blegen,  professor  at  Augsburg,  has 
been  treasurer  of  the  foreign  missions  of  the  Lutheran  Free  Church 
and  also  of  the  Santal  Committee  since  1893.  He  has  edited 
"Santalmissionaeren"  since  1897  and  is  the  author  of  a  history  of 
the  Zion  Society  for  Israel  (1903)  and  a  bird's-eye-view  account 
of  the  world  fields  white  unto  harvest — "Al  Verden  for  Kristus" 
(1910).  Professor  Andreas  A.  Helland,  of  Augsburg  Seminary, 
has  been  the  secretary  of  the  Lutheran  Board  of  Missions  of  the 
Lutheran  Free  Church  since  1907  and  has  written  valuable  contri- 
butions about  the  Madagascar  missions.  Lars  Lillehei  has  taught 
missions  at  Wahpeton,  Grand  Forks  and  Augsburg  and  has  writ- 


M.    A.    Pedersen 
Bihar,    India 


T.   L.    Brevig 
Teller,  Alaska 


M.    J.    Stolee 
Ft.    Dauphin,    Mad. 


ten  a  mission  book  entitled  "Arbeidere  in  Vingaarden"  (Workers 
in  the  Vineyard),  1912.    Michael  J.  Stolee  was  a  missionary  and 
superintendent  at  Ft.  Dauphin,   Madagascar,   1901-1909,  and  has 
been  a  professor  of  missions  at  the  United  Church  Seminary,  St. 
Paul,    1911-1917,  and  Luther  Theological   Seminary,    1917...... 

Mrs.  T.  H.  Dahl  founded  the  Women's  Missionary  Federation 
and  Mrs.  I.  D.  Ylvisaker  is  now  at  the  head  of  this  very  use- 
ful organization.  These  are  but  a  few  of  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  mission  friends  in  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  synods,  who  are 
working  and  praying : 

Savior,  sprinkle  many  nations, 
Fruitful  let  Thy  sorrows  be  ! 
By  Thy  pains  and  consolations 
Draw  the  gentiles  unto  Thee  ! 

The  statistics  of  the  foreign  missions   are  vibrant  with  life. 

The  small  sums  of  the  '50s  and  '60s  represent  great  sacrifices  and 

much    love   on   the    part   of    the   pioneer   giv- 

Expenditures  ers.     There    has    been    a    happy    increase    in 

the  general  and  special  knowledge  churchmen 

have  of  missions,  in  the  number  who  give  and  the  average  annual 


The  American  Period  417 

donations.  In  the  period  1868-1872,  the  Norwegian  Synod  con- 
tributed $4,015.22.  or  about  2  cents  by  each  baptized  member 
yearly;  in  the  period  1918-1922,  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church 
contributed  $1,653,196.17  to  its  own  fields  in  China,  Madagascar 
and  South  Africa,  or  about  80  cents  annually  per  capita.  In 
1922  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  reported  an  income  of 
$449,245.00  for  foreign  missions;  the  Lutheran  Free  Church 
reported  $39,807.00;  the  Lutheran  Brethren,  $12,927.00;  these 
three  synods,  a  total  of  $501,979.00.  If  we  add  the  Eielsen  and 
Norwegian  Synods,  the  Santal,  Orient  and  Sudan  missions  and  the 
Zion  Society,  the  sum  total  will  amount  to  over  $600,000.00,  or 
$1.25  per  baptized  person  for  foreign  missions.  Add  to  this  the 
work  done  by  the  Norwegian  Methodists,  Baptists,  Congrega- 
tionalists  and  members  of  other  Reformed  branches,  and  the  sum 
will  become  quite  respectable. 

The  expenditure  brings  good  returns.  The  converts  were  few 
and    far   between    at   first.     The    Norwegian    Missionary    Society 

labored  in  Zululand  from  1842  to  1858 — 
Results  16  long  years — before   it   was   able    to   report 

a  single  convert.  But  the  news  of  this  one 
Baptism — of  the  Zulu  maiden  Umatendwase — inspired  M.  B. 
Landstad  to  write  the  well-known  Norwegian  hymn  "Oplo'ft  dit 
Syn."  Similarly,  the  work  of  the  Norwegian-American  mis- 
sionaries in  China,  Madagascar  and  elsewhere  at  first  was  rather 
meagre  in  converts.  But  in  1922  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church 
alone  had  2,997  converts  who  had  been  baptized  that  year,  392 
who  had  been  confirmed,  11,825  who  had  communed,  and  a  total 
membership  of  36,071,  served  by  71  ordained  missionaries  from 
the  Norwegian  Church  in  the  United  States,  assisted  by  8  un- 
ordained  men,  57  single  women  missionaries  and  67  married 
women.  There  were  960  native  men  preachers  and  teachers  and 
208  native  women  workers.  There  were  26  main  stations  and  272 
out-stations.  The  work  had  steadily  advanced— the  missionaries 
had  advanced  upon  their  knees.  They  had  lived  through  the  Boxer 
Raid  and  the  World  War-  in  China,  the  French  persecution  and  the 
Malagasy  rebellion  in  Madagascar.  The  Gospel  has  triumphed ; 
the  doors  are  now  open. 

Mention  should  be  made  of  a  few  of  the  earliest  missionaries 
sent  out  from  the  Norwegians  in  the  United  States.    The  follow- 
ing   table    does    not    include    the     men    sent 
Early  Mission  out  from  Norway,  but  supported  by  the  Nor- 

Heroes  wegians    in    America,    such    as :     Nils    Astrup 

(1883),    Hans    J.    S.    Astrup    (1884),    Carl 


418 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Diving  (1883),  and  Carl  S.  Otte  (1882),  of  the  Norwegian  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  South  Africa. 

Missionaries  Years  Lands  Synods 

!  Conference 
FreeCChSdirCh 
United   Church 
(  Conference 

Tou,  Erik  H 1889-1903      Madagascar  <  United  Church 

\  Free  Church 

Isolany,  Gabriel  N 1893-1901      Madagascar       United  Church 

Sanders,  Ole  B 1893-1902      Madagascar      United  Church 

Pedersen,  P.  A.  G 1893-1900      Madagascar       Free  Church 

Halvorson,  Peter  C 1896-1914      Madagascar       United  Church 

H0igaard,  Jonas  R 1896-1901      Madagascar       Free  Church 

Skaar,  Johannes  J 1896-1902      Madagascar       United  Church 

Nestegaard,  Ole  S.,  Jr.  ..     1890-1902J    Hupeh  and         ch}na  Sodety 

{China  Society 
United  Church 
Norwegian  Church 

Netland,  Sigvald   1890-1896      Honan  China  Society 

Running,  Halvor  N 1891-1908      Hupeh  China  Society 

Landahl,  Carl  W 1896- . . .  A    HuPeh  \  Hauge  Synod 

(   Honan  (  Norwegian  Church 

Stokke,KnutS 1896-1921      Honan  j  ^rweg^Church 

Wold,  Oscar  R.,  D.D.  ...     1898-....       Hupeh  \  Hauge  Synod 

(  Norwegian  Church 

Theodor  C.  Meyersohn  was  the  first  missionary  among  the 
Jews.  He  worked  in  Egypt  and  Palestine,  1881-1882,  and  in 
Russia,   1882-1913.    Another  Jewish  missionary  was  Dr.  Rudolf 


A  Group  of  Preachers  in  Zululand 


The  American  Period 


419 


H.  Gurland,  missionary  at  Odessa,  Russia,  1896-1905,  author  of 
"I  Tvende  Verdener"  and  other  mission  tales.  Jewish  missionaries 
in  America  include  the  following-:  Paul  Werber,  Baltimore,  1882- 
1896;  E.  N.  Heimann,  Chicago,  1894-1918;  Isadore  Schwartz, 
Chicago,    1918-....;    Johan    A.    Eliassen,    Chicago,    1907-1921; 

Anders  H.  Gjevre,  New  York,  1900-1903,  Minneapolis,  1913- ; 

John  Resnick,  Minneapolis,  1917-1924;  Ole  Waldeland,  emissary, 
1895-1903;  John  J.  Breidablik^  emissary,  1903-1913.  C.  K.  Sol- 
berg  is  the  president  of  the  Zion  Society  for  Israel.  The  Nor- 
wegians have  not  forgotten  the  Jews,  as  the  chief  butler  forgot 
Joseph  in  the  prison.  The  mission  among  the  Jews  is  in  places 
very  successful.  The  work  of  Gurland  in  Russia,  for  example, 
bears  comparison  with  that  of  the  New  Testament  times. 


R.  H.   Gurland 
Jewish    Missionary 


Axel  Jacobson 
Indian   Missionary 


A.   H.   Gjevre 
Jewish   Missionary 


Tollef  L.  Brevig  was  the  first  missionary  to  the  Eskimos 
(1894).  Erik  O.  MoYstad  was  missionary  to  the  Indians  at  Wit- 
tenberg, Wis.,  1884-1886,  and  to  the  Indians  at  Carter,  Wis., 
1893-1915.  The  work  is  continued  at  Wittenberg  by  Axel  Jacob- 
son,  1888 — ,  and  at  Carter  and  Soperton  by  Louis  Adolf 
Dokken,  1913 — .  The  Pottawattomie  Tribe  among  which  Dok- 
ken  works  is  anxious  to  hear  the  Gospel.  Nils  J.  Bakke,  a  Nor- 
wegian, was  preacher  and  teacher  among  the  Negroes  of  the 
South,  1877-1920.  Osa  A.  Lawrence,  a  Negro  preacher,  joined 
the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  and  worked  for  a  year  (1923- 
1924)  among  the  colored  people  of  Minneapolis.  The  Eskimo, 
Indian  and  Negro  missions  are  now  under  the  home  mission  board. 

Nor  have  the  Norwegians  forgotten  the  Mohammedans.  They 
are  of  all  non-Christians  the  nearest  to  the  Christian  faith  and  the 
most  hostile.  However,  even  they  submit  to  the  beloved  yoke  of 
Christ.  In  1895  Nestorius  George  Malech,  an  archdeacon  in 
the  Old  Evangelical  Apostolic  Church  of  the  East,  commonly  called 
the  Nestorian  Church,  prevailed  on  Norwegian  Lutherans  to 
support  him  as  a  missionary  at  Urmia,  Persia.  In  1898-1899 
Mons  O.  Wee  was  sent  by  the  friends  of  this  cause  to  investigate 


420  Norwegian  People  in  America 

conditions  in  Persia.  In  his  book  "Fra  Undersp'gelsesreisen" 
(1900)  he  reported  unfavorably  concerning  this  mission  but, 
nevertheless,  it  was  continued  until  1909,  when  Ludvig  O.  Fossum, 
Ph.D.,  after  a  three  years'  experience  as  missionary  in  Urmia 
also  advised  that  the  mission  be  not  supported.  Dr.  Fossum  there- 
upon turned  his  attention  to  the  Mohammedans.  He  offered  his 
services  to  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Orient  Mission  Society 
and  became  a  missionary  among  the  Mohammedans  at  Soujboulak, 
Kurdistan,  Persia,  in  1911.  Dr.  Fossum  was  a  linguistic  genius 
truly  exceptional.  He  learned  a  language  or  dialect  almost  with- 
out effort.  He  created  the  written  language  of  Kurdistan.  He 
wrote  grammars,  dictionaries  and  school  books,  translated  Lu- 
ther's catechism,  Christian  hymns  and  the  New  Testament  into 
Kurdish.  His  wonderfully  romantic  and  noble  career  would  fill 
a  book  in  the  relating,  a  book  that  would  hold  a  creditable  place  in 
any  series  of  stories  about  missionary  heroes.  Fossum  died  Octo- 
ber 10,  1920,  41  years  of  age,  but  his  work  will  go  on.  The  boards 
of  foreign  missions  report  that  they  have  more  candidates,  men 
and  women,  who  are  willing  to  go  to  the  foreign  mission  fields 
than  their  funds  permit  them  to  send.  The  day  of  the  Viking 
raids  is  past  and  gone;  the  day  of  the  pioneer  settlement  is  no 
more ;  but  the  sons  of  the  Vikings  ought  to  do  well  as  missionaries 
(Ps.  110:3). 

Up !  the  ripening  fields  ye  see, 
Mighty  shall  the  harvest  be ; 
But  the  reapers  still  are  few. 
Great  the  work  they  have  to  do. 

12.    Home  Missions,  1890-1925 
By  home  missions  in  general  is  meant  the  gathering  and  es- 
tablishing of  congregations  in  the  home  land,  and  the  aiding  of 

these  congregations  in  securing  pastors  and 
General  teachers.       Historically,   ,it    has    worked    this 

way,  that  each  mission  group  after  organiz- 
ing itself  into  congregations  and  synods,  began  to  help  the  immi- 
grant brethren  of  the  same  nationality,  also  to  organize  them- 
selves into  congregations  and  to  secure  pastors  and  teachers.  The 
Germans  took  care  of  the  scattered  Germans,  the  Swedes  did 
likewise  for  the  Swedes,  the  Norwegians  for  the  Norwegians,  and 
so  on.  '  The  first  congregational  work  was  carried  on  exclusively 
in  the  mother  tongue  of  the  immigrant.  Later  on,  after  these 
people  had  become  somewhat  anglicized,  they  began  slowly  to 
use  English  at  the  church  services  and  to  reach  out  to  bring  into 
the  fold  men  of  other  nationalities  who  were  unchurched.  The 
synods  using  foreign  languages  most  exclusively  have  sought  to 
build  up  their  constituency  from  the  immigrants  of  their  own 
nationality  and  their  children.  The  synods  now  using  English 
predominatingly    seek    to   win    for    their    denomination    the    un- 


The  American  Period  421 

churched  and  the  unconverted  people  from  all  nations  and  classes 
about  them. 

The  term  home  missions  is  used  also  to  designate  the  work 

among  people  of  non-Christian  races  within  our  own  land.     The 

missions   among  the   Eskimos   of   Alaska,   the 

Special  Indians     of     Wisconsin,     and     the     Negroes, 

were  formerly  rated  as  foreign  mission  work, 

but   are   now    more   properly   classified    as   home    mission    work. 

?W  9/% 


77.  t% 

Distribution  of  Norwegians  by  Sections,  1906 

The  Jewish  missions  within  this  country  as  carried  on  by  the 
Zion  Society  and  supported  by  the  Norwegian  synods,  can  be 
thought  of  as  home  mission  work,  being  in  the  home  country. 
The  home  mission  board  also  has  charge  of  a  great  deal  of  work 
which  more  properly  belongs  to  the  inner  missions. 


9i-syu  x 

Distribution  of  Norwegian  Lutherans  by  Sections,  1906 

As  examples  of  this  work  may  be  mentioned:  Evangelistic 
work,  city  mission  work,  slum  missions  and  settlements,  camp 
missions,  hospital  missions,  university  missions,  work  for  sol- 
diers and  sailors,  prison  and  reformatory  mission  work,  Bible  and 
tract  distribution  work  among  the  blind,  deaf  and  epileptics,  sea- 
men's missions,  immigrant  missions,  and  the  like.  Much,  and 
sometimes  all,  of  this  work  is  now  being  done  by  home  mission 
boards,  although  the  attempt  is  made  from  time  to  time  to  shift 
it  over  to  inner  mission  boards  and  charity  workers. 

The  home  missions  among  the  Norwegians  go  back  almost  to 

the  beginning  of  synodical  work.     Home  mission  work  was,  of 

course,   extensively   performed   by   every   pio- 

Organization  neer  pastor,  but  the  work  was  not  organized 

under    committees     and     boards     before    the 


422 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Oluf  Glas0e 
Supt.  Home  Missions 


Ole  M.  Anderson 
Evangelist 


Ole  L.  Kirkeberg 

Advocate  of  Norse 

Culture 


synods  were  established.  These  committees  and  boards  would 
look  over  the  field,  select  competent  men  to  go  out  and  organize 
congregations  and  raise  funds  to  pay  the  home  mission  pastors. 
Of  the  7,500  Norwegian  Lutheran  congregations  which  have 
been  established  in  the  United  States,  no  doubt  at  least  7,000 
have  been  established  under  the  direction  of  home  mission  com- 
mittees and  boards.  The  difference  between  a  committee  and 
a  board  is  not  neces- 
sarily great  and  often  not 
very  clear.  In  general,  it 
may  be  said  that  a  board 
has  greater  responsibility 
and  is  more  carefully 
chosen  and  permanently 
organized.  Beginning  with 
1890,  the  United  Norwe- 
gian Church  immediately 
planned  a  vigorous  home 
mission  work  and  appoint- 
ed a  home  mission  super- 
intendent, whose  sole  duty 
was  to  travel  over  the 
whole  field,  organize  con- 
gregations, find  workers 
and  direct  the  work.  The 
following  men  ably  filled 
this  position  in  the  United 
Church:  N.  J.  Ellestad, 
1891-1900;  H.  C.  Holm, 
1901-1906;  Oluf  Glas^e, 
1906-1914;  G.  A.  Larsen,  Bethesda  Slum  Mission,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
1914-1917.  h  Cleaned  Out  the  Slum 


The  American  Period 


423 


The  work  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  in  1904  it  was 
found  necessary  in  the  United  Church  to  appoint  a  salaried  secre- 
tary for  the  joint  foreign  and  home  mission  board.  The  work  of 
this  office  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  in  1910  two  paid 
secretaries  were  elected,  one  for  the  foreign  mission  board  and 
one  for  the  home  mission  board.  H.  M.  Saeterlie  served  as  secre- 
tary for  the  joint  board.  Olaf  Guldseth  was  secretary  for  the 
home  mission  board  of  the  United  Church  from  1910-1917.  Carl 
Severin  Berthinius  Hoel  has  been  secretary  of  the  home  mission 
board  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  since  1917.   The  Nor- 


111  1 

M% 

K\ 

*    A    Hi  .^\1r 

ml 

i*i 

L             »        « 

UV         VI  ■    «.-.   JH 

A  class  of  Indians  just  confirmed,  Wittenberg,  Wis. 


wegian  Lutheran  Church  does  not  maintain  the  office  of  mission 
superintendent.  In  lieu  thereof  it  has  nine  district  presidents 
and  nine  district  home  mission  committees  looking  after  the  home 
missions  in  their  respective  districts.  There  is  also  an  English 
Association  taking  charge  of  the  English  interests  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  English  Lutheran  congregations.  B.  J.  Rothnem  is 
the  missionary  among  the  state  institutions  for  deaf  and  dumb 
at  Sioux  Falls;  H.  O.  Bj^rlie  has  a  similar  position  at  Faribault, 
Minn.;  P.  C.  Birkelo  is  in  charge  of  the  immigration  mission  at 
the  Norway  House,  92  Columbia  Heights,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  In 
1867  the  Norwegian  Synod  had  established  a  seamen's  mission 
in  New  York.  C.  S.  E.  Everson  was  pastor  for  the  Seamen's 
Mission,  1876-1878,  and  a  member  of  the  immigration  committee, 
1888-1917.  Emil  J.  Petersen  was  immigration  missionary  in  New 
York   City,    1889-1919.     The  United   Church  appointed   Tobias 


424 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Ole  O.  Fugleskjel 

A  soldier  of  Uncle 
Sam  and  a  soldier  of 
the  Cross.  Born  July 
10,  1868,  in  Freeborn 
Co.,  graduate  of  St. 
Olaf  College,  1894, 
and  of  the  United 
C  h  u  r  c  h  Seminary, 
1909.  Had  been  a  sol- 
dier in  the  U.  S. 
Army.  Became  a  pas- 
tor in  1909  and  froze 
to  death  Dec.  6,  1909, 
in  the  woods  near 
Clementson,  M  i  n  n., 
while  on  his  way  to  a 
preaching  appoint- 
ment. He  was  found 
sitting  down  with  the 
open  Bible  in  h  i  s 
hands. 


In  the  Cross  of  Christ 
I  glory   .... 


A  Memorial  to  Fugleskjel  at  St.  Olaf  Colle 


The  American  Period 


425 


Tjp'rnhom  immigrant  missionary  at  Ellis  Island,  1906-1910.  In 
his  wake  Christen  Westermoe,  T.  A.  Lillehei  and  Iver  Tharald- 
sen  have  met-  the  newcomers  at  Ellis  Island.  Seamen's  Missions 
have  been  maintained  at  San  Francisco,  Seattle,  Boston,  Philadel- 
phia and  Galveston  for  many  years.  In  San  Francisco  the  work 
was  organized  by  C.  M.  Hvistendahl,  1870-1875;  L.  A.  K.  Carl- 
sen  took  charge  in  1875-1879  while  serving  Our  Savior's  Scan- 
dinavian Church.  He  preached  to  the  sailors  one  thousand  times, 
distributed  many  thousand  tracts,  papers  and  books,  visited  thou- 
sands of  ships  and  sick  sailors.  The  pastors  following  him  have 
been:  O.  N.  Grpnsberg,  1890-1900;  A.  H.  Lange,  1890-1896, 
1900-1902;  L.  A.  K.  Carlsen,  1902-1912;  T.  C.  Satra,  1912-1913; 
E.  S.  Belgum,  1913-1914;  and  O.  N.  Gronsberg,  1913—. 
From  1902  to  1912  this  mission  was  visited  by  175,000  Norwegian 
sailors.  It  distributed  80,000  letters  and  over  one  million  dollars 
in  money. 

The  Seattle  Seamen's  Mission  is  now  conducted  by  E.  B. 
Slettedahl;  the  Galveston  Mission,  by  Johan  Olsen;  the  Boston 
Mission,  by  Oddmund  Nielsen ;  the  Philadelphia  Mission  was  in 
charge  of  A.  W.  Hvistendahl, 
1907-14.  The  Seamen's  Mis- 
sion of  Norway  conducts  mis- 
sion of  Norway  coteaoinnuod 
sion  stations  in  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  New  York,  Mobile, 
Pensacola  and  New  Orleans. 
Secretary  C.  S.  B.  Hoel  has 
a  number  of  evangelists  at 
work,  notably:  H.  N.  Run- 
ning, T.  Tjo'rnhom,  E.  L. 
Scotvold  and  Johan  Olsen. 
The  home  mission  work  in 
Alaska  among  Norwegians  is 
now  in  charge  of  John  Flint, 
Petersburg,  and  C.  K.  Mal- 
min,  Ketchikan;  among  the 
Eskimos  it  is  conducted  by  the 
three  deaconesses  Anna  Hu- 
seth,  Mabel  Lien  and  Magda- 
lene Kleppe  besides  Leonard 
Sulooguak.  The  Indian  mis- 
sion at  Wittenberg  is  conduct- 
ed by  Axel  Jacobson,  super- 
intendent, and  T.  M.  Rykken, 
Pastor.  Meet  Miss  Eskimo 


426  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The  smaller  synods — Lutheran  Free  Church,  Norwegian 
Synod,  Lutheran  Brethren,  Eielsen  Synod — are  actively  engaged  in 
home  mission  work,  as  are  also  the  Methodists,  Baptists  and  Con- 
gregationalists.  The  Congregationalists,  known  as  the  Norwegian- 
Danish  Evangelical  Free  Congregations  in  America,  have  estab- 
lished a  mission  loan  fund  of  $100,000.00  for  the  purpose  of 
church  extension.  Since  1884  they  have  grown  from  nothing  to 
a  group  of  60  congregations,  chiefly  in  the  large  cities,  with  a 
printing  press  in  Chicago,  a  Bible  school,  including  academy, 
seminary,  business  and  music  courses,  at  Minneapolis,  an  orphan- 
age at  Fort  Lee,  N.  J.,  and  another  in  Chicago,  a  large  share  in 
the  Scandinavian  Alliance  Mission,  which  has  an  annual  budget 
of  $120,000.00  and  labors  in  China,  Africa  and  South  America, 
besides  Denmark  and  Norway. 

The  contributions  to  the  home  missions  in  the  early  decades 
of  the  church  work  were  rather  small  owing  to  lack  of  syste- 
matic  organization.     In    1868-1872   the    Nor- 
Expenditures  wegian  Synod  raised  only  $2,878.46   for  this 

cause.  Most  of  the  home  mission  work 
was  performed  by  the  individual  pastors  without  any  record  being 
made  at  the  central  office.  From  1873  to  1882  the  Norwegian 
Synod  collected  $26,000.00,  the  Conference,  $6,000.00,  and  the 
Augustana  Synod,  $3,000.00  for  home  missions.  In  1920  the 
Norwegian  Luth.  Church  contributed  $263,989.00  to  home  mis- 
sions ;  in  1922,  $263,998.00.  In  1922  the  Lutheran  Free  Church 
home  mission  budget  was  $46,000.00;  that  of  the  Eielsen  Synod 
was  $2,280.00. 

There  is,  as  stated  before,  a  great  discrepancy  between  Hie 
number  of  Norwegian  Lutherans  on  the  church  books  and  the 

actual  number  of  Norwegian-  Lutheran  ad- 
Literature  herents.     This  fact  has  been  brought  out  by 

the  Canadian  census  and  other  studies.  O. 
M.  Norlie  published  in  1909  a  statistical  study  entitled  "The 
United  Church  Home  Missions."  In  1919  he  edited  Oluf 
GlaspVs  "Omsorg  for  Sine  Egne"  (Care  for  One's  Own).  Of 
the  many  who  have  written  on  the  home  mission  situation  in  the 
church  periodicals,  no  one  has  written  more  instructingly  and  in- 
spiringly  than  Supt.  Glasoe.  In  this  day  of  rapid  Americaniza- 
tion and  religious  indifference  such  home  mission  literature  has 
been  of  great  guiding  influence  both  to  boards  and  officers  and 
the  rank  and  file  of  congregational  supporters. 

13.    Charities,  1890-1925 
Charities,   or  inner  missions,   is  an  organized   effort  to  pro- 
mote the  spiritual  and  bodily  welfare  of   the  destitute  and  the 
indifferent  who  are,  at  least  nominally,  within  the  church.    Chris- 


The  American  Period 


427 


tianity  is  a  missionary  religion.  Christ,  its  founder,  commanded 
His  disciples  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature  and  to  be  His 
witnesses.  He  Himself  set  the  example.  The  Church  has  ever 
since  had  its  work  to  do  and  Christians  gladly  follow  in  His  foot- 
steps, not  least  in  emulating  His  works  of  mercy. 

Human  needs  are  so  multitudinous,  human  labor  is  so  diversi- 
fied, therefore  it  has  been  found  expedient  also  to  organize  the 
work  of  charity  according  to  some  sort  of  classification.  There 
is  the  care  of  children,  for  example,  through  orphanages,  home 
finding  societies,  day  nurseries,  slum  schools,  kindergarten,  coun- 
try holidays  for  the  city  poor  children,  etc.  There  is  the  care  of 
the  aged  through  old  people's  homes,  rest  homes,  relief  funds  and 
pensions.  There  is  the  care  of  the  sick  through  hospitals,  institu- 
tions for  defectives,  convalescent  homes,  deaconess  work,  volun- 


J.   A.    Wang 

Supt.,  Homme 

Orphanage 


A.    Oefstedal 
Rector,  Chicago 
Deaconess  Home 


N.  A.   Stubkjaer 

Supt.,  M.  Luther 

Orphanage 


teer  work,  flower  missions.  There  is  the  care  of  the  stranger 
through  hospices,  immigrant  missions  and  homes,  diaspora  mis- 
sions, seamen's  missions  and  homes,  river  and  canal  boat  missions, 
employment  bureaus,  shelters  for  homeless,  tramps,  etc.  There  is 
the  saving  of  the  lost  through  juvenile  courts,  Magdalene  homes, 
temperance  work.  There  is  the  care  of  family  through  coloniza- 
tion efforts,  building  aids,  housing  reforms,  temporary  loans. 
There  is  the  work  of  training  charity  workers,  deacons  and  dea- 
conesses, Bible  readers  and  teachers,  colporteurs,  evening  schools 
for  working  men  and  women.  There  is  last,  but  not  least,  the 
work  of  evangelization  through  regular  evangelistic  sermons,  tent 
missions,  slum  missions  and  settlements,  midnight  missions,  camp, 
railroad  and  factory  missions,  hospital  missions,  university  mis- 
sions, work  among  soldiers  and  sailors,  prisoners  and  reformatory 
inmates,  Bible  and  tract  distribution,  colportage,  free  libraries  and 
reading  rooms,  mission  by  posters  and  pictures,  Sabbath  ob- 
servance, and  the  like.  Charity  work  is  not  only  almsgiving.  It 
is  concerned  with  teaching  the  Gospel  and  to  this  adds  the  labor 


428 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


of  Christian  love  wherever  sin  has  left  its  tracks,  or  is  likely  to 
do  so,  in  order  to  relieve,  renew  and  prevent.  It  uses  the  Word 
and  the  Work  as  its  two  hands  of  service. 

The  Norwegians,  both  Lutheran  and  Reformed,  have  been 
laboring  in  this  field,  even  before  they  organized  their  first  con- 
gregation. Christian  charity  affects  even  the  state  so  that  it  re- 
lieves the  Church  of  much  of  its  load  of  helping  the  pauper,  the 
defective  and  the  sick.  The  first  Norwegian  to  organize  charitv 
work  institutionally  was  Even  J.  Homme,  who,  in  1881,  laid  out 
the  town  of  Wittenberg,  Wisconsin,  and  there  in  the  wild  woods 
founded  the  Homme  institutions  according  to  the  spirit  of  Wichern 

and  the  plan  of  Francke.  He 
built  up  one  branch  of  this 
work  after  another — an  or- 
phans' home,  an  old  people's 
home,  a  normal  school  and 
academy,  a  printing  press, 
Sunday  school  and  young  peo- 
ple's papers,  books,  almanacs, 
tracts.  From  that  day  the 
work  has  expanded  to  include 
every  kind  of  charity  work 
mentioned  in  the  classification 
above.  In  the  Norwegian  Lu- 
theran Church  the  budget  for 
charities  in  1922  was  $451,- 
671.00,  or  $1.05  per  member. 
A  good  deal  of  money  raised 
does  not  pass  through  the  syn- 
odical  budget,  not  even  through 
the  treasury  of  an  institution, 
what  the  right  hand  doeth  in  a 
If  we  add  the  local  to  the  synodi- 
benevolences  of  the  Norwegian 
people  will  surely  amount  to  respectable  sums  beyond  the  million 
dollar  mark. 

The  charities  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  of  America 
for  1922,  based  on  incomplete  returns,  were  as  follows : 

Institutions  Employees 

Orphanages    85 

Home  Finding    17 

Hospitals    625 

Hospices    10 

Homes  for  Aged   65 

Total   802  63,449  $5,807,479  $1,619,426 

The  charities  of  the  other  Norwegian  synods,  and  the  in- 
dependent institutions  added  to  the  above  will  bring  the  total  for 
the  year  nearly  up  to  $2,000,000. 


Rev.   and   Mrs.   A.   Vatne 

(In  charge  of  Sarepta  Old  People's 

Home,    Sauk    Center,    Minn.,    of    the 

Lutheran  Brethren) 

the  left  hand  does  not  know 
great  deal  of  this  charity  work. 
cal    charities   then    the    annual 


Inmates 

Property 

Income 

820 

$972,180 

$370,495 

313 

24,023 

17,467 

54,749 

3,673,232 

956,23  r 

6,991 

166,500 

i5,9n 

576 

971,544 

259,322 

The  American  Period 


429 


T       T       T       T 

Rescue  the 
Perishing 

f    T    t    t 


Rescue  Mission,  Minneapolis 


Matt. 
28:19 


Luke 
5:5 


Lutheran  Bible  School,  Grand  Forks,  N.  D. 

T       T       T       T  f~ 


Suffer  the 

little   children 

to  come 

unto  Me 


Lake  Park  Orphanage,   Lake  Park,  Minn. 


430 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


The  chief  charitable  institutions  of  the  Norwegians  are  as 
follows : 

DEACONESS  HOMES 
No.          Name  Place  Year  Head 

i.     Norwegian  Lutheran   Brooklyn  1883      C.  O.  Pederson 

2.  Norwegian  Lutheran   Minneapolis      1889      E.  Berntsen 

3.  Norwegian  Lutheran   Chicago  1896      A.  Oef stedal 

4.  Norwegian  Methodist    Chicago  1910      Fredrik  Ring 

(Nos.  1-3  are  Lutheran;  No.  4  is  Methodist) 

CHILDREN'S  HOMES 

1  Homme,  Wittenberg,  Wis.,  1881,  J.  A.  Wang 

2  M.  Luther,  Stoughton,  Wis.,  1889,  N.  A.  Stubkjaer 

3  Beloit,  Beloit,  la.,  1890,  T.  T.  Thompson 

4  Lake  Park,  Lake  Park,  Minn.,  1895,  L.  J.  A.  Jahren 

5  Bethesda,  Beresford,  S.  D.,  1896,  John  O.  Johnson 

6  Wild  Rice,  Twin  Valley,  Minn.,  1898,  N.  O.  Skauge 

7  Parkland,  Everett,  Wash.,  1900,  H.  H.  Holte 

8  Coeur  d'Alene,  Coeur  d'Alene,  Ida,  1923,  H.  J.  Stolee 

9  Martha-Maria,  Poulsbo,  Wash.,  1891,  J.  L.  Bestul 

10  Bethesda,  Willmar,  Minn.,  1905,  Johan  Mattson 

11  Norw.  Lutheran,  Edison  Park,  111.,  1898,  Martha  Bakke 

12  Children's,  Brooklyn,  1915,  N.  M.  Jorgensen 

13  Christian  Orphans',  Fort  Lee,  N.  J. 

14  Lydia,  Chicago,  111. 

Nos.  1 — 8  are  conducted  by  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church.  They 
had  881  children  in  1924.  This  synod  has  also  an  orphanage  at  Teller, 
Alaska,  for  Eskimo  children,  and  two  day  nurseries  and  kindergartens,  at 
Brooklyn  and  Chicago,  with  13,535  children.  Nos.  9 — 10  belong  to  the 
Lutheran  Free  Church;  Nos.  11 — 12  are  independent,  supported  by  Lu- 
therans; Nos.  13  and  14  belong  to  the  Norwegian  Congregationalists. 

Home  Finding 
The  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  has  a  Home  Finding  De- 
partment which  placed  247  children  during  1924,  and  over  1900 
children  since  1917,  in  Christian  homes  for  adoption.    It  placed 


Lauritz   Larsen, 
D.D.,  S.T.D,  L.L.D. 
Pres.,   National  Luth. 

Council,   1920-22 


Rev.   J.    C.    Roseland, 

Philadephia, 

Pres.,    Knights  of 

Leif  the  Discoverer 


J.  A.  O.  Stub,  D.D. 
Sec'y,  National  Luth. 
Council  for  Soldiers' 
and    Sailors'   Welfare 


The  American  Period 


431 


169  children  in  67  boarding  homes,  where  they  are  kept  at  a  price 
until  called  for.  It  has  seven  juvenile  court  attendants,  15  city 
and  hospital  missions,  with  24  workers  in  15  cities.  Rev.  Helge 
HpVerstad  first  advocated  the  plan  of  placing  children  in  homes 
rather  than  in  orphanages.  Rev.  H.  B.  Kildahl  is  the  secretary 
of  the  board  of  charities  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church. 

Rescue  Homes 

The  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  has  three  rescue  homes  for 
girls — Minneapolis,  Fargo  and  Sioux  Falls.  In  1924  these  cared 
for  242  adults  and  216  infants. 


HOSPICES  AND  INNS 

i  Seamen's  Home,  Boston,  Mass.,  1911,  O.  Nielsen 

2  Luth.  Home  of  Mercy,  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  1921,  Bertha  J.  Bragstad 

3  Seamen's  Mission,   San  Francisco,  Cal.,   1870,  Ole  Gr0nsberg 

4  Norway  House,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  1923,  P.  C.  Birkelo 

5  Seamen's  Mission,  Seattle,  Wash.,  1907,  E.  B.  Slettedahl 

6  Seamen's  Mission,  Galveston,  Tex.,  1910,  Johan  Olsen 

7  Norw.  Emigrant  Mission,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  1865,  Iver  Tharaldsen 

8  Siloah  Scand.  Mission,  Seattle,  Wash.,  1907,  R.  J.  Berge 

9  Luther  Home,  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  1904,  F.  A.  Schaffnit 

10  Hospice  for  Young  Women,  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  1918,  F.  A.  Schaffnit 

11  Scand.  Sailors'  Temp.  House,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

12  Girls'  Home,  Evanston,  111. 

13  Girls'  Home,  Seattle,  Wash. 

14  Girls'  Home,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

15  Seamen's  Mission,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

16  Seamen's  Mission,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

17  Young  W.  Christian  Home,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

18  Young  W.  Christian  Home,  Chicago,  111. 

19  Norw.  Mission  House,  Boston,  Mass. 

20  Salem  Y.  M.  Mission  House,  Chicago,  111. 

Nos.  1— 11  are  Lutheran;  Nos.  12 — 16  are  Methodist;  Nos.  17 — 20  are 
Congregationalist. 


Sec'y  Gustav  Eide 
Minnesota  Total 
Abstinence  Assoc. 


Mrs.  Ulrikka  F.  Bruun 

Temperance  and 

Settlement  Worker 


Hon.  E.  E.  L0beck 

Temperance   Orator 

and    Senator 


432 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Martin  Norstad  N.  M.  Ylvisaker  J.  C.  K.  Preus 

Dr.  Martin  Hegland 

Executive  Board  of  Young  People's  Luther  League 


HOSPITALS 

i  Deaconess  (Luth.),  Chicago,  111.,  1896,  A.  Oefstedal 

2  Deaconess  (M.  E.),  Chicago,  111.,  1907,  Emma  Linderud 

3  Norwegian-American    (Indep.),    Chicago,    111.,    1896, 

4  Central  Iowa,  Story  City,  la.,  1914,  I.  T.  Heggen 

.5  St.  Luke's,  Mason  City,   la.,  1920,  O.  L.  N.  Wigdahl 

6  Ft.  Dodge,  Ft.  Dodge,  la.,  1924,  S.  A.  Berge 

7  Bethesda,  Crookston,  Minn.,  1898,  Anna  M.  F0rlie 

8  Dawson  Surgical,  Dawson,  Minn.,  1915,  G.  S.  Froiland 

9  Deaconess,  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  1889,  Marie  Folkvard 

10  Ebenezer,  Madison,  Minn.,  1902,  Otto  Mostrom 

11  Fairview,  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  1916,  Gina  Aaserud 

12  St.  Luke's,  Fergus  Falls,  Minn.,  1903,  Margaret  Fjelde 

13  St.  Olaf's,  Austin,  Minn.,  1896,  Belle  S.  Anderson 

14  St.  Paul,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  1901,  J.  E.  Haugen 

15  Deaconess,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  1883,  C.  O.  Pedersen 

16  Deaconess,  Grafton,  N.  D.,  1904,  Naema  Johnson 

17  Deaconess,  Grand  Forks,  N.  D.,  1899,  Amund  Othmo 

18  Deaconess,  Northwood,  N.  D.,  1902,  Mildred  Olsen 

19  St.  Luke's,  Fargo,  N.  D.y  1908,  A.  O.  Fonkalsrud 

20  Minot,  Minot,  N.  D.,  1923, 

21  Wittenberg,  Williston,  N.  D.,  191 1,  Albert  Johansen 

22  Luther,  Watertown,  S.  D.,  1915,  N.  O.  Spilde 
2^  Lutheran,  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D.,  1894 

24  Moe,  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D.,  1917,  Frances  Moe 

2^  Luther,  Eau  Claire,  Wis.,  1907,  F.  L.  Tr0nsdal 

26  Lutheran,  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  1899,  J.  Mutschmann 

27  Lutheran,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  1924,  Mr.  Norswing 

28  Good  Samaritan,  Rugby,  N.  D.,  1910,  Josephine  Stennes 


he  American  Period  433 

All  except  No.  2  are  Lutherans.  Defunct  hospitals,  such  as 
Zumbrota  and  Thomas  Consumptive,  not  listed.  Hospitals  in  for- 
eign mission  fields,  such  as  Kioshan,  Honan,  not  listed.  The  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  hospitals  for  1922  had  625  employees,  54,749 
patients,  property  valued  at  about  $4,000,000.00  and  an  income 
and  outlay  of  about  $1,000,000.00.  From  10  per  cent  to  40  per  cent 
of  the  work  is  charity  work.  "Be  ye  therefore  merciful,"  is  the 
spirit  that  inspires  the  majority  of  hospital  workers. 

HOMES  FOR  THE  AGED 

i  Homme,  Wittenberg,  Wis.,  1882,  R.  P.  Wasbotten 

2  Skaalen,  Stoughton,  Wis.,  1900,  B.  J.  Larsen 

3  Josephine,   Stanwood,  Wash.,   1908,  Mrs.  John  J.  Jacobson 

4  Bethesda,  Beresford,  S.  D.,  1910,  John  O.  Johnson 
.5  Central  Iowa,  Story  City,  la.,  1913,  A.  C.  Molstre 

6  Aase  Haugen,  Haugenville,  la.,  1914,  O.  E.  Schmidt 

7  Glenwood,  Glenwood,  Minn.,  1914,  H.  J.  Stormo 

8  Coeur  dAlene,  Couer  d'Alene,  1920,  H.  J.  Stolee 

9  Bethany,  Bawlf,  Alta.,  1922,  N.  R.  T.  Braa 

10  Bethesda,  Willmar,  Minn.,  1898,  Johan  Mattson 

11  Ebenezer,  Poulsbo,  Wash.,   1908,  Ingebrigt  Tollefsen 

12  Sarepta,  Sauk  Center,  Minn.,  1910,  A.  Vatne 

13  Elim,  Minneapolis,  Minn.,   1914,   J.  A.  Jacobsen 

14  Norwood  Park,  Chicago,  111.,  1896,  Camilla  Andersen 

15  Norw.  Christian,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  1902,  Erick  Ericksen 

16  Northwood,  Northwood,  N.  D.,  1910,  S.  H.  Njaa 

17  Lvngblomsten,   St.  Paul,  Minn.,  1912,  Johanne  Larson 

18  Ebenezer,  Minneapolis,'  Minn.,  1916,  Julia  Ekern 

19  Scandinavian,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  1918,  P.  Langbach 

20  Aftenro,  Duluth,  Minn.,  1921,  Mrs.  I.  N.  Sodahl 

Extinct  homes  not  included.  Nos.  1-9  belong  to  the  Norwegian  Lu- 
theran Church;  had  383  inmates  in  1924.  Nos.  10-11  belong  to  the  Lu- 
theran Free  Church ;  No.  12,  to  the  Lutheran  Brethren ;  No.  13,  to  the 
Norwegian-Danish  Methodist  Church.  No.  14-20  are  independent,  but  get 
most  of  their  support  from  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church. 

14.  Societies 
Societies,  as  here  used,  are  any  free-will  associations  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  furthering  some  cause.  In  this  sense  societies 
are  usually  a  selective  group  and  labor  for  love  in  order  that  others, 
as  well  as  they  themselves,  may  reap  a  rich  harvest.  To  them 
much  of  the  progress  of  the  world  is  due,  and  their  history  makes 
interesting  and  edifying  reading. 

There  have  been  formed  many  societies  among  the  Norwegians 
and  of  many  kinds.    On  account  of  limited  space  the  societies  are 

regretfully  dismissed,  except  that  a  few  re- 
A  Multitude  marks   will   be   made   about  the   "Bygdelags," 

of  Societies  through    whose    efforts    the    Norse-American 

Centennial  is  being  planned.  This  celebration 
will  be  held  at  the  Minnesota  State  Fair  Grounds,  St.  Paul,  June 
6-9,  1925. 


434  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Pictures  are  submitted  of  some  of  the  officers  of  the  Norse- 
American  Centennial  Committee,  namely:  Prof.  Gisle  Bothne, 
president;  Mr.  S.  H.  Holstad,  managing  director;  Dr.  Knut  Gjer- 
set,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Exhibits. 

The  Norse- American  Centennial  Committee,  with  headquarters 
at  the  New  Nicollet  Hotel,  Washington  Ave.  South,  Minneapolis, 
has  under  their  direction  a  whole  army  of  committees,  with  a  mem- 
bership of  4,000,  who  are  working  day  and  night  to  make  the 
Norse-American  Centennial  a  World's  Fair  not  easy  to  forget. 
Bothne  is  the  head  of  the  Scandinavian  Department  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Minnesota,  a  man  of  great  abilities  and  international  fame. 
Holstad  is  the  president  of  the  S.  H.  Holstad  Coffee  Co.,  a  man  of 
unusual  executive  ability,  optimism  and  tenacity  of  purpose. 
Gjerset  is  the  scholarly  historian  of  the  Norwegian  people  and  the 
curator  of  the  pioneer  museum  at  Decorah.  The  names  of  other 
members  of  the  central  organization  of  the  Norse-American  Cen- 
tennial are  given  herewith. 

NORSE-AMERICAN  CENTENNIAL  COMMITTEE 
GISLE  BOTHNE,  President  TRYGVE  OAS,  Treasurer 

N.  T.  MOEN,   ist  Vice-President      A.  UELAND,    Counsel 
A.  C.  FLOAN,  2nd  Vice-President 
J.  A.  HOLVIK,  Secretary  S.  H.  HOLSTAD,  Managing  Director 

MEN 
Program  Committee  Publicity  Committee 

B.  E.  BERGESEN,  Chairman  OSC^R  fRNESON,  Chairman 

H.  ASKELAND,  Secretary  GUSTAV  B.  WOLLAN,  Director 

CARL  D.  KOLSET  Transportation  Committee 

O.  H.  SLETTEN  O.  P.  B.  JACOBSON,  Chairman 

H.   K.   MADSEN  HERMAN  MUELLER 

LEE  KUEMPEL 
Budget  Committee  M.  E.  WALDELAND 

JOS.  G.  NORBY,  Chairman  ARTHUR  L.  JOHNSTON 

OSCAR  J.  THORPE  Committee  on  Athletics 

O.  I.  HERTSGAARD  ARNOLD  C.  OSS.  Chairman 

r  ,  -c"  Committee  on  Exhibits 

Committee  on  Finance  KNUT  GJERSET,  Chairman 

E.  G.  QUAMME,  Chairman  OLAF  M    NORLIE 

L.  W.  GORDER,  Vice-Chairman        THEODORE  C.  BLEGEN 

WOMEN 
WOMEN'S  AUXILIARY  Reception  Committee 

^T^F^rp'ATTTTM^     T7A  »         MRS'    GISLE    BOTHNE 

Mr£L}$A-    PAULINE    FAR"         Chairman 
%^tLLir±    (chairman 

MRS.  J.'E.  HAUGEN,  Vice  Chm. Committee  on  Concessions 

MRS.   WILLIAM    O.    STORLIE     MRS.  J.  O:  LEE,  Chairman 

A/rt/c"  AfAMTt-v  rACCT7r,T  Committee  on  Exhibits 

til  ££&!¥  IS! IHIen    ^L*1rborg  reque 

Hospital  Committee  MRS.    BERTHA   DAHL   LAWS 

MRS.    SOPHIA    WETTELAND         Vice-Chairman 
Chairman  DR.  INGEBORG  RASMUSSEN 


The  American  Period  435 

Program  Committee  MRS.  LAURA  BRATAGER,  Sec. 

MRS.  A.  C.  FLOAN,  Chairman  MRQ.     AMANr)A    ANDFRSON 

MISS  GUNHILD  OFTEDAL  MRb"  AMANDA  ANDERbON 

Vice  Chairman  MISS  GEORGINA  LOMMEN 

Pictures  are  also  submitted  of  three  temperance  leaders  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  the  Norwegian- Americans  have  been  a  temperate 
people  and  have  been  voting  for  the  prohibition  cause.  It  was  not 
by  mere  chance  that  the  Eighteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  was  written  by  a  Norwegian — A.  J.  Volstead. 
There  are  some  two  million  others  like  unto  him  in  the  Norwegian 
phalanx.  The  pictures  chosen  are  of  the  Honorable  Engebrit  E. 
Ljzfoeck,  Mrs.  Ulrikka  Feldtman  Bruun  and  Gustav  Eide.  Ljzfoeck 
spent  a  long  life  speaking  the  temperance  cause,  writing  about  it, 
and  making  laws  in  the  state  capitol  in  support  of  it.  Mrs.  Bruun 
built  Harmony  Hall  in  the  slums  of  Chicago,  established  a  Hope 
Mission,  lifted  the  drunkards  out  of  the  gutter,  saved  the  girls 
from  lives  of  shame,  organized  kindergartens,  published  a  tem- 
perance periodical,  wrote  poems,  song  books,  and  novels  against 
strong  drink,  stumped  several  states — truly  a  noblewoman.  Gus- 
tav Eide,  for  about  30  years  identified  with  the  Minnesota  Total 
Abstinence  Association  and  the  Association  for  Our  Country's 
Welfare,  and  serving  as  a  secretary  since  1902,  being  J.  J.  Sk0r- 
dalsvold's  successor  to  this  important  and  difficult  post. 
Gustav  Eide  blir  aldrig  lei  det. 

In  addition  to  these  three  temperance  workers  out  of  a  host  of 
over  300  societies  we  select  three  leaders — J.  A.  O.  Stub,  D.D., 
Lauritz  Larsen,  D.D.,  S.T.,  LL.D.,  and  Jens  C.  Roseland.  Dr. 
Stub  was  secretary  of  the  National  Commission  for  Soldiers'  and 
Sailors'  Welfare  during  the  World  War.  As  pastor  of  the  Cen- 
tral Lutheran  Church,  Minneapolis,  he  has  in  the  short  space  of 
five  years  built  up  in  a  dying  church  community  a  very  strong 
Lutheran  congregation.  He  is  about  to  build  a  new  $300,000 
church.  Dr.  Larsen  was  elected  secretary  of  the  National  Lu- 
theran Council  in  1918  and  president  in  1920.  The  National  Lu- 
theran Council  under  his  direction  gathered  and  distributed  over 
2,500,000  pounds  of  clothing  and  $2,500,000.00  for  temporal  re- 
lief and  reconstruction  of  church  work  in  17  European  lands  and 
many  foreign  mission  fields.  In  the  work  of  his  office  it  became 
his  duty  twice  to  visit  the  devastated  lands  of  Europe,  and,  on  the 
return  from  his  second  trip,  which  had  proved  very  strenuous,  he 
took  sick  with  the  flu  and  died.  He  was  a  great  and  noble  exec- 
utive, a  tall,  strong  man  of  handsome  appearance  and  gentle  man- 
ners. Rev.  J.  C.  Roseland  is  the  president  of  the  Knights  and 
Dames  of  Leif,  the  Discoverer.  He  is  a  Norwegian  Lutheran 
pastor  at  Philadelphia  and  Washington,  D.  C.  Has  been  secretary 
of  the  Augustana  Synod  and  the  United  Church.  Is  an  author, 
an  "Israelite  without  guile." 


436 


Nonvegian  People  in  America 


A  "bygdelag"  is  a  society  composed  of  natives  from  a  "bygd," 
that  is,  some  particular  settlement  or  group  of  settlements  in 
Norway  and  of  their  descendants  in  this  coun- 
Norwegian  try.    Thus,   the  Valdris   Lag  is   a   society  of 

Bygdelags  men  and  women  from  Valdres,  Norway,  and 

their  children  born  here.  The  members  of 
Telelaget  hail  from  Telemarken;  the  members  of  Stavangerlaget 
came  from  Stavanger  City  and  County. 

The  objects  of  the  bygdelags  are  various:  (1)  To  re-unite 
relatives  and  friends  who  lived  close  together  in  Norway,  but  are 
scattered  far  and  wide  in  this  land;   (2)  To  foster  and  preserve 


Andrew   A.   Veblen 


Thomas  Lajord 


Torkel   Oftelie 


the  traditions  and  memories  of  the  ancestral  home  localities;  (3) 
To  collect  and  publish  historical  and  biographical  information 
both  regarding  immigrants  to  America  who  came  from  the  dis- 
trict which  the  "lag"  represents  and  also  their  descendants;  (4) 
To  collect  charitable  and  memorial  gifts  to  be  given  to  their  an- 
cestral community.  Veblen,  in  his  "Valdris  Book,"  styles  the 
lags  "For-auld-lange-syne-societies,"  but  explains  that  they  are 
much  more  than  that.  Since  they  began  their  course  in  1899  they 
have  printed  at  least  25,000  pages  of  biographical  and  historical 
material  about  their  members.  They  have  built  a  large  number 
of  hospitals,  asylums,  and  rescue  ships,  established  endowments 
to  help  the  poor  and  sick,  and  in  other  ways  given  concrete 
demonstration  of  their  good  will  to  the  land  of  their  birth.  The 
lag  movement  is  unique.  No  other  people  seems  to  have  taken 
part  in  it.  The  nearest  approach  to  it  in  this  country  is  the  annual 
reunion  in  California  of  the  natives  of  this  or  that  state,  as,  for 
example,  former  citizens  of  Iowa  meeting  once  a  year  at  a  picnic 
in  Los  Angeles. 

a.     Valdris  Samband 
The  honor  of  starting  the  bygdelag  movement  no  doubt  be- 
longs to  Thomas  Lajord.     Lajord  was  born  Feb.  26,   1842,  in 
Vang,  Valdres,  and  came  to  America  in  1870.     He  worked  for 


The  American  Period 


437 


21  years  as  a  farmhand,  parochial  school  teacher  and  precentor, 
until  1891,  when  he  moved  to  Alexandria,  Minnesota,  and  got 
an  appointment  in  a  furniture  factory.  His  salary  as  teacher  was 
a  dollar  a  day,  but  he  did  very  good  work.  Through  his  friend, 
Senator  Knute  Nelson,  he  was  appointed  an  inspector  of  weights 
and  grain.  Later,  he  became  Senator  Nelson's  private  secretary 
at  Washington.  He  died  June  7,  1906.  On  Feb.  2,  1899,  Lajord 
wrote  an  Open  Letter  in  "Nordvesten,"  St.  Paul,  addressed  to 
the  Valdrises   of  the   Twin   Cities.    Couldn't   these  good   people 


Mons  O.  Wee 
Theological  Professor 


Hans  Jervell 
Historian 


Engebret  M.  Broen 
Bible  School  President 


have  a  reunion  some  time  that  spring?  The  letter  started  a  dis- 
cussion. A  picnic-reunion  was  held  in  Minneapolis,  June,  1899, 
at  which  Lajord  presided.  There  were  songs  and  speeches,  feast- 
ing and  games,  besides  informal  visiting  between  long-separated 
fellow-dalesmen.    The  Valdris  dialect  was  much  in  evidence. 

The  Bygdelag  Movement  Had  Begun 
A  similar  meeting  was  held  in  1900.  In  1901  a  permanent 
society  was  organized,  called  Valdris  Samband.  Andrew  A.  Veb- 
len,  professor  of  physics  at  the  University  of  Iowa,  was  the  first 
president-elect.  He  was  succeeded  in  1920  by  Andrias  M.  Sund- 
heim,  manager  of  the  Augsburg  Publishing  House.  In  1924, 
Dr.  John  E.  Haugen,  manager  of  the  St.  Paul  Hospital,  was 
elected  to  this  office.  In  1903  President  Veblen  and  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Valdris  Samband,  Dr.  J.  S.  Johnson,  began  the  publi- 
cation of  a  quarterly,  bearing  the  name  "Valdris  Helsing,"  as  an 
organ  of  the  lag. 

In  1910  this  magazine  was  enlarged  and  made  a  monthly  and 
bore  the  name  "Samband."  It  was  discontinued  in  1917.  In 
1920  Veblen  published  "The  Valdris  Book,"  telling  the  story  of 
the  lag  movement  and  the  Valdris  Samband.  A.  M.  Sundheim 
issued  a  historical  year  book  in  1922  and  an  illustrated  quarterly 
magazine,  "Samband,"  in  1924.    This  society  has  published  over 


438  Norwegian  People  in  America 

7,000  pages  of  historical  matter  about  the  Valdreses.  Now  there 
are  35  other  similar  societies  representing  other  valleys  and  dis- 
tricts of  Norway,  besides  a  number  of  division  lags.  This  happy, 
thriving  brood  gladly  look  up  to  the  Valdris  Samband  as  the 
mother  of  them  all. 

The  little  seed  sown  by  Mr.  Lajord  has  become  a  mighty  tree 
in  the  shadow  of  whose  noble  branches  Norsemen  of  every  clan, 
from  every  nook  of  this  land,  congregate  and  relax  from  toil. 

As  soon  as  the  Valdris  Society  got  well  under  way  a  number 
of  similar  organizations  sprang  up  to  represent  the  Norwegian 
people  of  this  or  that  community  in  Norway.  The  order  in 
which  these  societies  were  founded  is  as  follows : 


(2) 

1907 

Telelaget 

(3) 

Hallinglaget 

(4) 

1908 

Numedalslaget 

(5) 

Gudbrandsdalslaget 

(6) 

Tr0nderlaget 

(7) 

Nordlandslaget 

(8) 

Sognalaget 

(9) 

1909 

Selbulaget 

do) 

Vosselaget 

(n) 

Saetesdalslaget 

(12) 

Nordfjordlaget 

(13) 

1910 

Landinglaget 

(14) 

Totninglaget 

(15) 

0sterd0lslaget 

06) 

S0ndm0rslaget 

(17) 

Hadelandslaget 

08) 

Solunjglaget 

09) 

Stavangerlaget 

(20) 

1911 

Tinnsj0laget 

(21) 

Sigdalslaget 

(22) 

Sundalslaget 

(23) 

Hardangerlaget 

(24) 

S0ndhordlandlaget 

(25) 

1912 

Vinger,  Odalen  &  Eidskog 
Samlag 

(26) 

S0ndfjordlaget 

(27) 

1913 

Romdalslaget 

(28) 

Kristianialaget 

(29) 

Nordhordlandlaget 

(30) 

Hurdalslaget 

(3i) 

1915 

Smaalenslaget 

(32) 

Ringerikeslaget 

(33) 

Kongsberglaget 

(34) 

Mj0senlaget 

(35) 

1920 

Opdalslaget 

(36) 

1911 

Iowa  Telelag 

(37) 

Wisconsin  Telelag 

(38) 

1912 

Bandak  Telelag 

(39) 

1911 

Twin  City  Stavangerlag 

(40) 

1912 

West  Coast  Numedalslag 

(41) 

Minneapolis  Tr0nderlag 

b.    Telelaget 

Editor  A.  A.  Trovaten,  of  "Fram,"  Fargo,  North  Dakota, 
was  the  originator  of  the  Telelag.  In  1914  this  association  had 
1,600  members.  It  has  published  since  1909  a  little  magazine  in 
the  Telemarken  dialect.  The  name  of  the  magazine  is  "Telesoga." 
The  articles  are  all  from  the  pen  of  Torkel  Oftelie,  the  most 
prolific  collector  and  writer  of  lag  history  in  America.  The  pres- 
idents of  Telelaget  have  been:  Bendik  Bondahl,  1907-1908;  A. 
A.  Trovaten,  1909-1919;  Hans  Samuelson,  1919-1922;  J.  O. 
Saeter,  1922—. 

Among  the  representative  men  from  Telemarken  may  be  men- 
tioned: B.  Anundsen,  founder  of  "Decorah  Posten,"  the  largest 
Norwegian  paper  in  the  world;  O.  Andrewson,  pioneer  pastor, 
Wisconsin;  H.  H.  Bergsland,  professor  of  theology,  Red  Wing 
Sem. ;  Halvor  Bj^rnson,  pastor,  president  of  "For  Faedrearven" ; 
HerbjoYn  Gausta,  noted  artist ;  Osmund  Gunderson,  tobacco 
farmer  and  merchant,   Stoughton,  Wisconsin;   Torjus  and   Saa- 


The  American  Period  439 

mund  Hemmestvedt,  Ada,  Minnesota,  holding  world-records  in 
ski  jumping;  0sten  Hanson,  pastor  and  synodical  president,  with 
four  sons  in  the  ministry ;  E.  J.  Homme,  the  Norwegian  Francke, 
founder  of  the  Wittenberg  charitable  institutions;  J.  O.  Houg- 
land,  Montevideo,  Minnesota,  statesman;  Samuel  G.  Iverson, 
state  auditor  of  Minnesota,  1903-1915;  Isaac  Johnson,  Methodist 
pastor;  K.  O.  Lundeberg,  field  missionary;  Th.  N.  Mohn,  presi- 
dent of  St.  Olaf  College,  1874-1899;  T.  G.  Mandt,  inventor  and 
wagon  manufacturer;  A.  E.  Rice,  lieutenant-governor  of  Minne- 
sota, 1887-1891 ;  N.  N.  Running,  editor  of  "Familiens  Magasin" 
and  "The  Friend/'  and  manager  of  The  Christian  Literature  Co., 
Minneapolis;  O.  G.  U.  Siljan,  Lutheran  pastor,  Madison,  Wis- 
consin; C.  K.  Solberg,  president  of  Missionary  Training  School, 
Minneapolis;  Peer  O.  Stro'mme,  world  traveler  and  journalist, 
poet  and  novelist,  preacher,  teacher  and  politician;  A.  K.  Strand, 
successful  farmer  and  county  treasurer,  Norman  County,  Minne- 
sota; Halvor  Steenerson,  Minnesota  congressman,  1903-1923. 
Governor  Carl  Gunderson  of  South  Dakota  is  a  Telemarking. 

c.    Hallinglaget 

Hallinglaget  held  its  first  "stevne"  (meeting)  at  Walcott, 
North  Dakota,  in  1907,  at  the  suggestion  of  Halvor  Ulsaker  of 
that  place.  The  first  president  was  Dr.  Olaf  Th.  Sherping,  Fer- 
gus Falls,  Minnesota,  who  served  eight  years.  The  second  pres- 
ident was  S.  O.  Olstad,  piano  dealer  of  Minneapolis,  who  served 
for  three  years.  The  present  president  is  Prof.  Knute  Lolcens- 
gaard,  Edberg,  Alta.,  who  has  served  since  1918.  The  mem- 
bership is  1,000.  In  1914  this  lag  sent  a  gift  of  $20,000.00  to 
Hallingdal,  Norway,  as  a  fund  for  the  benefit  of  the  "worthy" 
poor,  the  interest  alone  to  be  distributed  from  year  to  year.  The 
fund  is  administered  by  the  local  government  of  the  valley. 
Hallinglaget  has  since  1912  been  publishing  a  quarterly  called 
"Hallingen,"  which  has  a  circulation  of  about  1,200.  Rev.  Ole 
Nilsen,  Grand  Forks,  North  Dakota,  is  the  editor. 

The  following  are  fairly  representative  of  the  Hallings :  Ole 
H.  Halvorson,  Litchfield,  Minnesota;  C.  O.  Livedalen,  Traill 
County,  North  Dakota,  and  Ole  O.  Thormodsgaard,  Hudson, 
South  Dakota,  all  leading  farmers;  JoYgen  Kvarve,  of  Houston 
County,  Minnesota,  is  said  to  be  the  first  Norwegian  in  Minne- 
sota to  take  a  seat  in  the  legislature;  K.  K.  Finseth  was  a  repre- 
sentative from  Goodhue  County  in  1868;  S.  G.  Gilbertson  was 
the  first  Norwegian  in  Iowa  to  hold  the  position  of  state  treasur- 
er, 1901-1907;  G.  N.  Haugen  has  been  a  congressman  from  Iowa 
since  1899  and  is  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture; 
Asle  G.  Gro'nna  was  a  congressman  from  North  Dakota,  1905- 
1911,  and  a  U.  S.  Senator,  1911-1921,  and  is  said  to  have  made 
a  million  dollars  in  farming;  Lars  Swenson  was  the  treasurer  of 


440  Norwegian  People  in  America 

the  United  Church  and  the  Hennepin  County  Court  House  Com- 
mission and  manager  of  the  Augsburg  Publishing  House,  1890- 
1904;  O.  S.  Swenson  was  the  warden  of  the  South  Dakota 
Penitentiary;  Lauritz  S.  Swenson  has  been  minister  to  Denmark, 
Switzerland  and  Norway,  besides  a  teacher  and  a  banker;  A. 
Weenaas  was  the  first  president  of  Augsburg  Seminary;  H.  Allen 
was  the  first  president  of  Lutheran  Ladies'  Seminary;  Ole  Neste- 
gaard  was  the  first  Norwegian  missionary  to  China;  Ole  Lo'kens- 
gaard  was  the  first  president  of  the  Madison  Normal  School ;  O.  T. 
Rikansrud  is  a  Lutheran  pastor,  having  served  in  Texas;  H.  S. 
Houg  was  a  great  teacher  and  so  was  Svein  Strand ;  B.  K.  Savre 
is  the  editor  of  the  Glenwood  "Herald" ;  B.  J.  Rothnem  is  a 
missionary  to  the  deaf  and  dumb  and  the  winner  of  the  prize  for 
the  best  cantata  for  the  Norse-American  Centennial;  Tollef 
Sanderson  is  a  trusted  banker  at  Harmony,  Minnesota;  Dr.  Eric 
O.  Giere  is  the  surgeon-in-chief  of  the  St.  Paul  Hospital,  St. 
Paul,  with  one  brother  and  a  son  in  the  ministry,  and  many  near 
relatives  in  the  learned  professions ;  Ole  O.  Otterdokken  fell  at 
the  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  defending  the  Union  cause;  O.  H.  Slet- 
ten  has  been  president  of  the  Lutheran  Free  Church;  and  Rev. 
Martin  Hailing  is,  of  course,  a  Hailing,  and  a  goad  pastor. 

d.    Other  "Lags" 

Since  1912  the  following  have  been  added  to  the  list  of  lags : 
(42)  Agderlaget;  (43)  Bergenslaget ;  (44)  Haugesundlaget ;  (45) 
Nerstrandslaget,  and  (46)  Viktnalaget. 

In  addition  to  these  association^  of  natives  from  a  particular 
valley  and  their  descendants,  a  few  family  groups  have  organized 
themselves  into  permanent  societies  for  the  purpose  of  meeting 
annually  to  promote  acquaintance  and  intercourse  among  the 
respective  members  and  to  write  their  saga.  The  Aaker  Family 
and  the  Tollef srude  Family  are  examples  of  this  very  interesting 
and  worthy  movement.  The  Solberg  Family,  Holden,  Minn.,  and 
the  Waldeland  Family,  St.  Ansgar,  Iowa,  have  published  genea- 
logical books.  A  number  of  extensive  biographies  and  autobiogra- 
phies have  appeared — R.  B.  Anderson,  J.  N.  Kildahl,  Ole  Paulson, 
Ole  Juul  and  C.  K.  Preus.  The  present  writer  made  family  trees 
of  the  C.  K.  Preus  Family,  going  back  on  the  father's  side,  as  far 
as  Abraham  Preus,  1650,  and  on  the  mother's  (Hjort)  side  to 
1525.  He  discovered  interconnections  with  621  other  families  in 
Norway  and  America.  Some  of  the  lags  are  emphasizing  the 
importance -of  holding  on  to  the  land  and  sticking  to  the  soil. 
Others  call  attention  to  the  value  of  keeping  the  old  Norwegian 
names  intact  and  of  getting  more  place  names  on  the  American 
map.  In  1911  only  18  out  of  886  of  the  postoffices  in  North 
Dakota  had  a  Norwegian  name.  No  state  and  no  large  city  has 
ever  been  named  after  the  Norsemen.    In  1856  the  Norwegians 


The  American  Period 


441 


Ole  J.  Glas^e 


John  P.  Johnson 


John    Juel 


came  to  Meeker  County,  Minnesota.  They  were  the  first  settlers 
there  and  called  their  town  Ness,  because  they  came  from  Ness 
in  Hallingdal.  The  town  was  called  Ness  by  the  railroad  when 
it  came,  and  Ness  was  a  good  enough  name  for  all  time.  But 
some  Americans  came  and  said :  "This  will  never  do.  Let's  get 
an  English  name."  The  Norwegians  meekly  yielded  and  Ness 
became  Litchfield  (which  means  in  Old  English  graveyard).  In 
New  York,  in  the  winter  of  1924-1925,  the  Norwegians  asked 
for  a  Leif  Erikson  Square,  and  got  it. 

The  story  of  the  "Bygdelags"  is  of   far-reaching  interest.    Tt 
is  curtailed  here  for  want  of  room. 


15.    Cultural  and  Professional  Pursuits 

Of  the  cultural  and  professional  pursuits  of  the  Norwegians  in 
America  brief  mention  will  be  made  of  a  few  inventors,  architects, 
engineers,  musicians,  painters,  sculptors,  doctors,  dentists,  and 
lawyers.  Norwegian  culture  is,  of  course,  represented  also  by 
the  preachers,  teachers,  writers,  publishers,  missionaries,  charity 
workers,  society  promoters,  athletes,  public  service  men,  etc.,  dis- 
cussed elsewhere  in  the  book.  It  should  be  understood  that  the 
following  is  not  a  catalog  or  inventory  of  names  and  deeds  in  the 
fields  surveyed.    The  subject  invites  further  study. 


Walker  says  in  his  "Making  of  the  Nation" :     "Agriculture 
was  the  chief  occupation  in  the  United  States  at  the  achievement 
of  independence   ....   Of  two  sons  of  the 
Norwegian  same  mother,  one  became  a  lawyer,  perhaps  a 

Inventors  judge,  or  went  down  to  the  city  and  became  a 

merchant,  or  gave  himself  to  political  affairs 
and  became  a  governor  or  a  member  of  Congress.  The  other  stayed 
upon  the  ancestral  homestead,  or  made  a  new  one  for  himself  and 
his  children   out   of  the   public   domain   further   west,   remaining 


442 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


A  Stoughton  Wagon 


through  his  life  a  plain,  hard-working  farmer.  .  .  .  There 
was  then  no  other  country  in  the  world,  there  is  now  no  consider- 
able country  where  equal  mental  alertness  has  been  applied  to 
soil  as  to  trade  and  industry." 

Walker  goes  on  to  show  that  the  saying  "necessity  is  the  mother 
of  invention,"  is  better  illustrated  here  than  in  any  other  land. 
'Invention  is  a  normal    function   of    the    American    brain.     The 

American  invents  as  the 
Greek  chiseled,  as  the  Vene- 
tian painted,  as  the  modern 
Italian  sings." 

In  this  feature  of  Ameri- 
canism the  Norwegians  have 
from  the  start  been  like  unto 
their  English  brethren,  and 
they  have  helped  in  no  small 
measure  to  improve  the 
known  tools  of  husbandry 
and  to  invent  new  ones.  The  axe,  the  spade,  the  shovel,  the  plow, 
the  wagon,  the  thresher,  and  a  hundred  and  one  other  implements 
have  been  improved  in  their  hands,  so  that  these  tools  have  become 
marvels  of  combined  efficiency,  lightness  and  strength. 

The  T.  G.  Mandt  and  Stoughton  wagons  and  sleds,  for  ex- 
ample, have  never  been  excelled.  T.  G.  Mandt  invented  these  and 
manufactured  them.  The  Vea  Brothers  and  the  Moline  Plow  Co. 
continued  to  manufacture  them  after  his  death. 

John  P.  Johnson  (Moen),  Litchfield,  Minn.,  invented  the  first 
twine  binder,  or  self  binder, 
in  1877.    His  patent  was  in- 
fringed   upon,    his    rights 
stolen. 

Ole  J.  Glasoe,  a  black- 
smith at  Lanesboro,  Minn., 
early  saw  the  need  of  a  plow 
that  would  run  lighter,  and 
invented  the  first  sulky  plow 

in  the  world.  The  number  of  his  patent  is  164,727,  dated 
June  22,  1875.  He  began  to  manufacture  the  sulky  plow,  and 
so  did  other  concerns.  He  had  no  money  to  carry  on  lawsuits, 
and  so  his  patent  did  not  protect  his  rights. 

John  Juel,  Canton,  S.  D.,  a  farmer  and  thresher,  found  that 
he  could  no  longer  feed  his  machine  by  hand,  so  he  invented  a 
self  feeder  and  started  a  factory  at  Larchwood,  la.  His  patent 
number  was  474,254,  granted  May  3,  1892,  the  first  self  feeder 
in  the  world.  He  soon  learned  that  other  factories  were  making 
use  of  his  models,  but  he  was  unable  to  check  the  infringements. 


The  First  Sulky  Plow 


The  American  Period 


443 


Then,  somehow  his  factory 
was  set  on  fire,  and  he 
ceased  to  manufacture. 

John  O.  Ulberg  had  been 
a  contractor  and  builder 
from  1890  to  1905,  farmer 
and  brick  manufacturer, 
Mott,  N.  D.,  1905-19,  and 
experimenting  with  rotary 
engines  since  1919.  He 
has  spent  20  years  planning 
a  rotary  engine.  In  1914 
he  visited  the  Patent  Of- 
fice at  Washington,  D.  C, 
and  found  3,086  patents  of 
rotary  engines  ahead  of 
him,  but  not  one  of  them 

used  his  principle.     He  is  president  of  Ulberg  and  Sons  Rotary 
Engine  Co.,  Sioux  Falls. 

Beecher  says  that  "he  that  invents  a  tool  or  a  machine  aug- 
ments the  power  of  man  and  the  well-being  of  mankind."  The 
inventors  just  mentioned  have  surely  contributed  to  the  welfare  of 
humanity,  and  while  in  this  life  they  received  no  material  rewards 
for  their  foresight  and  sacrifice.  It  is  said  of  a  man  that  he  asked 
his  fellowmen  for  bread,  and  they  gave  him  a  stone — when  he  was 
dead.  It  is  earnestly  to  be  hoped  that  the  world  will  eventually 
reward  these  inventors  of  machinery  of  such  universal  and  far- 
reaching  value  with  proper  monuments  of  stone. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  Norwegians  have  produced  33, 
000  inventions  in  the  United  States.  In  the  table  below  will  be 
found  33  of  these  chosen  to  show  their  variety  and  practicality. 


The  Juel  Self  Feeder,  Front  View 


L.  O.  Grondahl  C.  E.  Tharaldsen  J.    O.    Ulberg 

Some  Early  and  More  Recent  Inventors 


444 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


NORWEGIAN  INVENTORS 


Name 


Aasen,  Mr. 
Bonhus,  C.  Alfred 
Borge,  John 
tCappelen,  F.   W. 
Cappelen-Smith,  E.  A. 

Dahl,   Knut 
Danielson,  Mr. 

Evenrude.  Ole 

Flood,  Eyvind 
tGisholt  (Johnson),  J.  A. 
tGlas0e,  Ole  J. 

Gr0ndahl,  L.  O. 

Guettler,  H.  W. 
Heidenreich,   E.   L. 
Himle,  Th. 
tHoff,  Olaf 

t Johnson,  J.  P. 
juel,  John 
Langemo.  Edward 
Loss,   Henrick  V. 

tMandt,  T.  G. 
Monson.  George  S. 


Nordtop,   Gullick 
Olsen,  Tinius 
Olson,  Carsten  F. 


Pihlfeldt,  Thos.  G. 
tRigness,  John 
Ruud,  Edwin 
Sageng,  H.  O. 

Skille,  Edvard 
Tharaldsen,  C.   E. 
Ulberg,  John  O. 
Wigtel.  Carl 
tDeceased 


Place 

Stoughton,  Wis. 
Minneapolis,  Minn. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Minneapolis,  Minn. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 
Cannon  Falls,  Minn. 

Milwaukee,    Wis. 
Boston,    Mass. 
Madison,   Wis. 
Lanesboro,  Minn. 
Pittsburgh,   Pa. 

Chicago,  111. 
Chicago,  111. 
Spokane,  Wash. 
Montclair,  N.  J. 

Litchfield,   Minn. 
Canton,  S.  D. 
Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Stoughton,  Wis. 
St.  Paul,  Minn. 


Millet,  Alta. 
Philadelphia,   Pa. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


Chicago,  111. 
Norse,  Tex. 
Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Milaca,  Minn. 

Drummond,  Wis. 
Evanston,  111. 
Sioux  Falls,  S.  D. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 


Invention 

Sleeping  masks 

Furnace  heat  regulator 

Incinerator 

Reduction  plant 

Copper  extracting  meth- 
ods 

U.  S.  Navy  oil  burner 

"Never-Wiggle"  ironing 
board 

Evenrude  marine  motor 

Milling  machinery 

Simplematic  lathe 

First  sulky  plow 

Railway   signaling   appa- 
.    ratus 

Barking  drum 

Grain  elevator 

Life  preserver 

Subaqueous  railroad  tun- 
nel 

First  self  binder 

First  self  feeder 

Threshing  machine 

First  rolled  steel  railway 
car  wheels 

Mandt  wagon 

Instrument  for  reproduc- 
ing movement  of  hu- 
man jaws 

Automatic  power  engine 

Testing  machine 

Instrument  of  precision 
(for  detecting  posi- 
tion of   ships  at   sea) 

Jack  knife  bridge 

Disk  harrow   (1850) 

Automatic  bake  oven 

Combination  engine- 
thresher 

Metrical  calendar 

Micro-dissecting  machine 

Rotary  engine 

Hydraulic   machinery 


A  remark  or  two  about  these  inventions  is  surely  in  order. 
J.  A.  Johnson  (Gisholt),  the  inventor,  is  the  founder  of  the  Gis- 
holt  Manufacturing  Company,  Madison,  Wisconsin,  which  has  for 
over  50  years  been  making  high  grade  farm  implements  and  ma- 
chine making  machinery.  The  Simplematic,  for  example,  is  a 
simplex  highly  productive  lathe  which  meets  the  need  for  a  simple 
automatic  machine  capable  of  taking  a  number  of  cuts  on  a  variety 
of  chucking  and  between-centers  work.  L.  O.  Grondahl's  Rail- 
way signaling  apparatus   (Patents   No.   1,503,316,   1,503,317  and 


The  American  Period 


445 


1,503,318)  uses  photo-electric  and  other  light  sensitive  means  of 
actuating  automatic  signals  for  the  control  of  traffic  on  railways. 
As  director  of  research  for  the  Union  Switch  and  Signal  Co., 
Swissvale,  Pennsylvania,  Dr.  Grondahl  has  invented  a  number  of 
other  electrical  devices,  as :  A  focus  indicator  for  headlights 
(Patent  No.  1,414,125),  a  system  of  submarine  detection  in  alter- 
nating magnetic  fields.  He  has  several  patents  pending.  He  is 
an  authority  on  box  photometers,  pneumophonographs  and  other 
things  electric.  Th.  Himle's  life  preserver  was  devised  by  Pastor 
Himle  during  the  World  War.  So  many  people  were  being 
drowned  by  the  submarines,  and  this  set  him  to  thinking.  He 
made  a  life-saving  outfit  which  provided  air,  food  and  electric 
light.  It  is  easy  to  put  on,  and  when 
once  on,  it  will  take  a  man  right  to 
the  surface.  Rev.  Th.  Himle  had 
been  a  medical  and  clerical  missionary 
in  China,  1895-1909,  and  was  a  pastor 
at  Santa  Rosa,  California,  when  he 
invented  this  life  saver.  He  is  now 
an  evangelist  and  has  been  in  the  spiri- 
tual life-saving  business  all  hi-,  work- 
ing life.  Gulick  Nordtop  is  an  Alberta 
farmer  who  has  applied  the  principles 
of  the  clock  and  automatic  elevator  to 
engines  and  has  made  an  automatic 
power  engine  that  runs  without  fuel, 
steam,  electricity,  gas  or  oil.  The  Phi- 
ladelphian,  Tinius  Olsen,  won  gold 
medals  on  his  testing  machines  as  early 
as  the  Philadelphia  Centennial  of  1876. 
The  Texan,  John  Rigness,  invented  a 
disk  harrow  as  early  as  1850.  Edvard 
Skille  came  to  America  as  a  15-year  old  boy  and  at  once  secured  a 
job  in  a  Wisconsin  saw  mill.  He  rose  from  position  to  position  un- 
til he  became  a  log  scaler,  a  position  that  called  for  considerable 
mathematical  knowledge.  He  became  a  student  of  higher  mathe- 
matics all  by  himself  and  profoundly  efficient.  He  discovered  a 
method  of  trisecting  an  angle,  a  feat  that  had  never  before  been 
performed,  and  invented  a  log  marker  by  which  he  could  divide  an 
angle  into  any  required  part.  And,  finally,  he  devised  a  Metrical 
Calendar  in  which  he  applies  the  decimal  system  to  the  year. 
Astronomers  and  mathematicians  regard  the  work,  both  as  to 
originality  and  accuracy,  as  truly  remarkable.  Conrad  E.  Tharald- 
sen  is  a  professor  of  zoology  at  Northwestern  University.  He 
has  invented  a  parafin  oven  and  a  micro-vivisection  apparatus. 
In  connection  with  inventions  may  be  mentioned  a  few  who 


Th.   Himle   and  His  Life 
Saving  Outfit 


446 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Tharaldsen's  Parafin  Oven 


have  devised  efficiency  methods.  Thus :  Carl  G.  Barth,  Phila- 
delphia, is  the  inventor  of  a  system  of  efficiency  in  industrial 
management.  John  E.  Haugen,  St.  Paul,  is  the  inventor  of  a  plan 
of  hospital  bookkeeping  which  is  used  generally  even  in  New 
York.  O.  M.  Norlie,  together  with  G.  L.  Kieffer,  New  York, 
has  devised  the  minimum  parochial  blanks  of  the  National  Lu- 
theran Council  and  many  statistical  blanks  for  institutions,  de- 
partmental  agencies   and   societies,   no   doubt  the   simplest,  most 

systematic  and  fullest  church 
statistical  blanks  in  the  world. 
Magnus  Swenson  has  in- 
vented methods  of  saving  in 
manufacturing  sugar  and 
other  products.  E.  A.  Cap- 
pelen- Smith  has  invented 
methods  of  smelting  copper. 
J.  C.  M.  Hanson  is  one  of 
the  chief  authors  of  the 
Library  of  Congress  Sys- 
tem of  cataloguing. 

U.  S.  Senator  Norbeck 
was  the  champion  well-dig- 
ger of  South  ^Dakota  before 
he  went  into  politics.  He 
didn't  like  the  way  they  were  drilling  with  the  machines  then  in 
use  so  he  invented  a  combination  drilling  machine  and  pump. 

T.  Alvasaker,   Chicago,  "who  is  thoroughly  conversant  with 

Norse  church  architecture  as   well  as  Lutheran  architecture  in 

general,"    has    contributed    designs    I-XII    in 

Norwegian  Glasoe's  "Church  Designs"  (1917).   Of  course 

Architects  Alvasaker  is  an  expert  in  other  architectural 

fields,  too. 

Kort  Berle,  New  York,  shared  with  his  business  partner,  Gun- 
vald  Aus,  the  responsibilities  and  honors  of  designing  and  erecting 
the  Woolworth  Building,  the  tallest  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  on 
Broadway,  near  City  Hall  Park,  New  York.  Cass  Gilbert  was 
the  chief  architect. 

John  Engebretsen,  San  Diego,  Norwegian  consul,  is  the  leading 
street  contractor  and  builder  in  his  city. 

John  A.  Gade,  New  York,  a  high  standard  architect,  has  prac- 
ticed his  profession  in  the  great  metropolis.  He  has  been  knighted 
by  Norwegian,  Danish,  Swedish,  Belgian  and  Italian  potentates 
and  given  the  Navy  Cross  by  the  U.  S.  A.  He  is  the  author  of 
"Book  Plates,  Old  and  New"  (1898),  "Cathedrals  of  Spain" 
(1911),  etc. 

Nils  I.  Edward  Mohn,  St.  Paul,  oldest  son  of  Thorbjo'rn  N. 


The  American  Period  447 

Mohn,  first  president  of  St.  Olaf  College,  is  an  architect,  with 
offices  at  596  Endicott  Bulding,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 

Olaf  Thorshov,  of  the  Long  and  Thorshov  Co.,  Minneapolis, 
has  erected  many  of  the  tallest  buildings  of  Minneapolis. 

Olav  M.  Topp  has  for  40  years  been  building  some  of  the 
largest  skyscrapers  and  churches  of  Pittsburgh.  Topp  is  at  the 
top  of  his  profession. 

Rear  Admiral  Peter  C.  Asserson  (1839-06),  in  the  U.  S.  Navy, 
1862-06,  was  a  civil  engineer  and  builder  of  dry  docks  at  Norfolk, 
*  Brooklyn,  etc.   'The  Army  and  Navy  Journal," 

Engineers  December  8,  1906,  calls  him  the  "greatest  au- 

thority in  America  on  dry  docks."  He  was 
from  Ekersund.  Came  here  in  1859.  Had  four  sons,  two  sons-in- 
law,  and  5  grandsons  in  the  U.  S.  army  and  navy.  One  of  his 
sons-in-law,  Wm.  B.  Fletcher,  is  a  rear  admiral.  The  other  son- 
in-law,  Lieut.  Frank  A.  Spicer,  is  descended  from  Kjerulf,  the 
Norwegian  musician. 

Nils  F.  Ambursen,  New  York,  consulting  hydraulic  engineer, 
inventor  of  the  Ambursen  dam.  Otto  J.  Andreason,  New  York, 
designing  and  estimating  engineer,  for  many  years  with  the  world 
famous  Wm.  Barclay  Parsons.  Gunvald  Aus,  New  York,  consult- 
ing engineer,  designer  of  steel  frame  for  the  Woolworth  Building, 
the  "Cathedral  of  Commerce,"  the  world's  highest  building. 
Builder  of  the  United  States  Custom  House,  the  monumental  and 
artistic  structure  facing  Bowling  Green,  New  York  City,  and 
several  other  important  structures,  as:  U.  S.  Post  Office,  New 
York,  Essex  Court  House,  Newark,  Armory  Building,  New  York, 
Union  Central  Life  Insurance  Co's  Building,  Cincinnati.  He  was 
construction  engineer  of  the  Phoenix  Bridge  Co.,  1888-1894;  chief 
engineer  of  the  U.  S.  Treasury,  1894-1900. 

K.  Baetzman,  Chicago,  engineer  in  large  steel  plant.  A.  Berg, 
Patterson,  chemical  engineer  and  expert  in  silk  dyeing. 

Gustav  Bergendahl,  Einar  Bergendahl.  and  Carl  Bergendahl, 
brothers,  Chicago,  engineers  and  builders.  Einar  Bergendahl  built 
the  bridge  between  Philadelphia  and  Camden,  the  largest  in  the 
United  States.  Ole  Berger,  New  York,  paper  mill  engineer.  A.  A. 
Boedtker,  Chicago,  builder  of  exhibit  buildings,  Columbian  Ex- 
position, and  railroad  engineer.  John  Borge,  New  York,  engineer, 
identified  with  the  manufacture  of  incinerators.  John  S.  Braune, 
New  York,  consulting  engineer. 

Frederick  W.  Cappelen,  Minneapolis,  engineer,  with  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad,  in  Montana,  city  engineer,  1886-1821,  builder 
of  city  filtration  plant,  the  Northern  Pacific  bridge  and  the  Cap- 
pelen Bridge  crossing  the  Mississippi  at  the  foot  of  Franklin 
Avenue.  This  has  the  largest  concrete  span  in  the  world.  He 
also  built  the  bridge  at  Third  Avenue,  Minneapolis,  and  the  new 
Cedar  Avenue  bridge,  which  is  to  be  one  of  the  finest  in  America, 


448 


Nonvegian  People  in  America 


is  to  be  built  according  to/  his  specifications.  E.  A.  Cappelen- 
Smith,  New  York,  chemical  and  hydro-metallurgical  engineer 
and  copper  mining  expert,  winner  of  gold  medal  of  the 
Mining  and  Metallurgical  Society  of  America  and  member 
of  the  Guggenheim  Corporation.  H.  L.  Christie,  Pittsburgh, 
engineer  with  American  Bridge  Co.  for  many  years.  Gustav  L. 
Clausen,  Chicago,  civil  engineer  and  superintendent  of  sewers 
of  Chicago.  Mr.  Clausen  planned  the  towns  of  Pullman  and  Hyde 
Park  and  has  planned  the  sewer  systems  of  many  cities.  H.  Claus- 
sen,  engineer  with  E.  P.  Allis  Co.,  Milwaukee. 

Knut   Dahl,    San   Francisco,   is    engineer   of    the    Union    Iron 
Works  of  that  city.    Sverre  Damm,  New  York,  engineer  in  direct 


The  Cappelen  Bridge 


charge  of  subway  construction,  New  York,  for  25  years.  Viggo 
Drewson,  New  York,  a  leading  chemical  engineer  and  a  recognized 
authority  on  paper  manufacture.  J.  A.  Dyblie,  for  years  the  chief 
engineer  of  the  Anaconda  Mining  Company,  Montana.  At  present, 
chief  engineer  Illinois  Steel  Company's  Works,  Joliet,  Illinois. 

Eyvind  Flood,  Boston,  mining  engineer  and  inventor. 

Berge  B.  Furre,  New  York,  subway  engineer. 

Joachim  G.  Gaiver,  Pittsburgh,  civil  engineer,  designer  of  ex- 
hibit buildings  at  Chicago,  1893,  bridge  engineer.  Herbert  W. 
Guettler,  Chicago,  paper  mill  engineer,  inventor  of  Guettler  Bark- 
ing Drum,  an  improved  device  for  removing  bark  from  logs. 

E.  Lee  Heidenreich,  the  foremost  engineer  in  the  world  of  rein- 
forced concrete  construction,  inventor  of  modern  type  of  grain 
elevators.  J.  Heyerdahl-Hansen,  San  Francisco,  is  president  of 
the  Diesel  Engine  Company.    Olaf  HofT,  Montclair,  N.  J.,  con- 


The  American  Period 


449 


suiting  engineer,  inventor  of  new  method  of  laying  tunnels,  builder 
of  the  New  York  Central  tunnel  under  the  Detroit  River  and 
several  tunnels  under  the  Harlem  River.  Hoff  died  in  New  York 
City,  December  23,  1924.  About  30  years  ago  Hoff  built  a  belt 
line  railroad  bridge  across  the  Mississippi,  near  Eleventh  Avenue 
South,  Minneapolis.  The  bridge  was  built  from  both  sides  toward 
the  center.  Everything  was 
so  carefully  designed  that 
when  the  last  pieces  met,  the 
bolts  shipped  into  their  places 
without  any  filing  or  fitting 
of  any  sort.  This  marvel  of 
engineering  astounded  the 
technical  world.  N.  N. 
Running  had  a  thrilling  ac- 
count of  this  wonderful  man 
in  the  April  number  of  "The 
Friend,"  1925.  Hoff  ar- 
rived in  New  York  in  1879, 
a  20-year-old  Norwegian 
newcomer,  his  breast  pocket 
containing  a  diploma  from 
the  Polytechnic  Institute  at 
Copenhagen,  and  his  heart 
throbbing  with  the  ambition 
to  make  his  mark  in  this  land 
of  wonderful  engineering 
feats.  He  started  at  the 
bottom  in  a  fitting-up  shop. 
Soon  he  was  an  engineer 
with  the  Mexican  Central 
Railway,  and  shortly  after 
that  the  locating  engineer  of 
the  line.  He  lived  several 
years  in  Minneapolis  and 
took   a   leading   part   in   the 

Lutheran  church  work.  He  built  a  bridge  across  the  Mississippi 
at  St.  Paul.  In  1910  he  took  charge  of  the  bridge  work  of  the  New 
York  Central  and,  in  four  years,  constructed  over  400  bridges. 
Last  year  he  built  the  Castleton  Bridge  for  this  railroad.  His  broth- 
er, J.  H.  Hoff,  is  the  chief  engineer  for  the  American  Bridge  Co. 
at  Chicago.  Leonhard  Holmboe,  Chicago,  has  designed  and  built 
one  of  the  largest  steel  plants  in  America,  and  has  been  in  the 
service  of  the  Illinois  Steel  Co.  since  1870.  Christian  and  Severin 
Holt  are  engineers  and  inventors.  Christian  Holt  has  specialized 
in  river  locks  and  has  worked  for  the  U.  S.  A.  Severin  Holt  has 


The  Woolworth   Building,   a  product 

of   Norwegian  Engineering  and 

Architectural    Science 


450 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


specialized  in  farm  machinery  and  has  worked  for  the  McCormick 
Co.,  now  the  International  Harvester  Co.  One  of  his  inventions  is 
the  Holt  Cream  Separator.  Norman  B.  Holter  is  a  mechanical  en- 
gineer. He  is  the  son  and  successor  of  the  illustrious  Anton  M. 
Holter,  Helena,  Montana. 

Axel  Olaf  Ihlseng,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  is  a  zinc  mining  engineer, 
operating  in  Colorado,  Missouri,  Mexico,  Kansas  and  Oklahoma. 
M.  Rude  Jacobsen,  Brooklyn,  is  a  tunnel  making  expert.  D.  S. 
Jensen  is  a  prominent  paper  mill  engineer  of  New  York. 

Halfdan  Lee,  Pittsburgh,  is  an  engineer  in  the  coke  manu- 
facturing industry.  His  brother,  Leif  Lee,  is  the  chief  engineer 
at  a  large  steel  plant,  Youngstown,  Ohio.  O.  L.  Lindrew,  Chicago, 
was  a  farmer  boy  at  Jefferson  Prairie,  Wisconsin.  He  became  a 
fireman  on  the  Illinois  Central  in  1886,  an  engineer  in  1890,  trans- 


Olaf  Hoff 
New  Jersey 


Edward  Mohn 
Minnesota 


Ingvald  Rosok 
Arizona 


portation  inspector  and  expert  on  fuel  conservation  for  the  Illinois 
Central  system  in  1912. 

Guttorm  Miller,  New  York,  has  for  over  20  years  been  con- 
nected with  subway  engineering  and  other  big  construction  enter- 
prises. 

A.  B.  Neumann,  Chicago,,  is  the  designer  and  builder  of  the 
largest  steel  plant  in  America,  possibly  in  the  world,  the  United 
States  Steel  Corporation  plant  at  Gary,  Indiana.  He  planned  and 
laid  out  the  City  of  Gary.  He  built  the  plant  of  the  American 
Rolling  Co.  at  Middletown,  Ohio,  and  the  seamless  tube  plants  for 
the  Pittsburgh  Steel  Products  Co. 

Alf  Otto  is  the  builder  of  the  five-mile  long  bridge  across  the 
Savannah.    He  was  born  at  Oslo  in  1881. 

J.  P.  Paulson,  San  Francisco,  is  the  chief  engineer  of  the 
C.  H.  Moore  Iron  Works  of  that  city.  Thomas  Pihlfeldt,  Chi- 
cago, is  a  noted  bridge  engineer,  chief  engineer  of  bridges  for 
Chicago,  inventor  of  the  Pihlfeldt-Ericsson,  or  Chicago  type,  of 
jack-knife  bridges. 


The  American  Period  451 

Oscar  H.  Reinholt,  San  Diego,  is  a  mining  engineer.  Was  a 
geographer  in  the  Philippine  Forestry  Bureau,  superintendent 
U.  S.  army  coal  mines,  with  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines,  consulting 
petroleum  engineer,  with  Treasury  Department,  valuation  engi- 
neer of  natural  resources,  awarded  bronze  and  silver  medals,  St. 
Louis,  and  gold  medal,  San  Diego,  for  mineral  exhibit ;  geologist, 
teacher  of  Spanish,  author  of  "Statistical  Handbook,"  "Treasures 
and  Tragedies  of  Oildom,"  associate  editor,  "U.  S.  Treasury 
Manual  of  the  Oil  and  Gas  Industry." 

Ingvald  Rosok,  Bisbee,  Arizona,  is  an  electrical  and  mining 
engineer  in  charge  of  electric  light  plants,  ice-making  factories 
and  other  enterprises.  He  is  mayor  of  his  city  and  operates  oil 
wells  in  California  on  the  side.  Edwin  Ruud,  Pittsburgh,  where 
the  anvil  blows  never  cease  and  the  smoke  always  hangs  over  the 
city.  Inventor  of  the  Westinghouse  gas  engine,  automatic  bake 
ovens,  dual  fire  control  services,  president  of  the  Edwin  Ruud 
Manufacturing  Company. 

Frederick  Schaefer,  Pittsburgh,  is  an  engineer,  inventor  and 
manufacturer  of  mechanical  devices  in  use  on  railroads.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  Norwegian  Society  of  Pittsburgh,  which  has  30  members, 
most  of  them  engineers.  Eugene  Schou,  New  York,  is  structural 
engineer  for  the  board  of  education  of  the  metropolis,  and  has 
for  years  superintended  the  construction  of  the  city's  numerous 
school  buildings.  Benjamin  Franklin  Stangland,  Slooper,  is  a 
mechanical  engineer.  He  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Fairbanks  Co., 
Chicago,  1873-1877;  with  Howard  and  Morse,  New  York,  since 
1879;  has  designed  many  ventilating  plants  in  large  buildings. 
Charter  member  of  American  Society  of  Heating  and  Ventilating 
Engineers. 

Magnus  Swenson,  Madison,  is  a  chemical  and  hydraulic  engi- 
neer, the  greatest  authority  on  sugar  manufacturing  and  a  world 
exponent  of  economy  in  manufacturing  and  the  saving  of  waste. 

Halsten  J.  Thorkelson,  E.  Orange,  N.  J.,  is  a  mechanical  engi- 
neer. Took  his  M.  E.  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  1901.  Was 
draftsman  7  years,  superintendent,  J.  I.  Case  Plow  Works,  Racine, 
1901-1902,  professor  of  steam  engineering,  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin, 1902-1914;  business  manager  of  same,  1913-1921;  now  con- 
nected with  the  General  Education  Board,  New  York. 

T.  D.  Yensen,  Pittsburgh,  is  the  chief  of  the  Westinghouse 
Chemical  Laboratory. 

P.  G.  Zwilgmeyer,  a  former  city  engineer  of  Seattle,  and  at 
present  a  civil  engineer  in  the  employ  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad,  is  a  profound  student  of  theology  according  to  scientific 
methods,  but  (sic!)  in  childlike,  orthodox  faith.  His  treatises  on 
Luther,  Pascal,  Paul's  Relation  to  the  Classics,  Bible  Introduction, 
are  masterpieces. 


452  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Norway  has  produced  a  host  of  musicians,  many  of  them  of 
far   fame,  as,   for  example:    Ole   Bull,   M.   B.   Landstad,   Half- 
dan   Kjerulf,    Otto    Winter-Hjelm,    Johan    S. 
Musicians  Svendsen,   Richard   Nordraak,   Edvard   Grieg, 

Johan  Selmer,  Christian  Cappelen  and  Ole 
Olsen.  These  men  wrote  the  musical  composition  distinctly  pe- 
culiar to  Norway,  and  yet  of  universal  charm,  for  music  is  a  uni- 
versal language.  As  Longf  ellew  says  in  his  "Outre-mer" : 
"Music  is  the  universal  language  of  mankind,"  and  Pollak  says  in 
his  ''Course  of  Time" : 

He  touched  his  harp,  and  nations  heard,  entranced, 
As  some  vast  river  of  unfailing  source, 
Rapid,   exhaustless,  deep,  his  numbers  flowed. 
And  opened  new  fountains  in  the  human  heart. 

The  Norwegian  musicians  have  made  an  important  contribu- 
tion to  the  world's  music,  a  contribution  different  in  many  re- 
spects from  that  of  the  other  races,  but  yet  harmonizing  with  and 
enriching  the  grand  orchestra  and  chorus  of  the  nations.  It 
stands  to  reason  that  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Norway  who  came 
to  America  would  carry  with  them  a  love  for  the  Norwegian 
songs  and  melodies,  which  meant  so  much  to  them  over  there. 
And  this  they  did. 

This  heritage  is  treasured  in  the  Norwegian  home.  Mother 
sings  her  babies  to  sleep  with  the  Old  Country  lullabies.  Father 
and  mother  and  children,  too,  all  unite  their  voices  in  prayer  and 
praise  and  thanksgiving  at  meals  and  evening  devotions.  At 
prayer  meetings  and  Sunday  services  each  one  takes  part  in  the 
congregational  singing  of  the  Lutheran  chorals,  with  their  measur- 
ed rhythm  and  deep  devotional  content,  as  well  as  in  the  lighter 
hymns  and  spiritual  songs.  In  the  parochial  school  and  confirma- 
tion instruction  the  best  hymns  and  tunes  are  learned  by  heart. 
Many  of  the  older  people  whose  sight  has  become  dimmed  by 
years,  can  recite  hundreds  of  stanzas  by  heart ;  in  fact,  it  is  noth- 
ing unusual  to  find  Norwegians  who  know  their  whole  hymn- 
book  by  heart.  In  the  congregational  choirs,  Luther  leagues,  and 
singing  societies  vocal  music  is  fostered. 

Much  attention  has  been  paid  by  the  Lutherans  to  the  publi- 
cation of  suitable  song  books  for  congregations,  young  people's 
societies,  children,  choirs  and  special  occasions.  The  early  new- 
comers took  along  with  them  in  their  traveling  box,  copies  of 
Balle's  "Evangelisk-Kristelige  Salmebog"  (1797),  Guldberg's 
(1778),  Kingo's  (edition  1819),  Harboe  and  Guldberg's  (edition 
1823).  In  1854  two  editions  of  the  Harboe  and  Guldberg  hymn 
books  were  published  by  the  pioneer  settlers,  one  printed  by  Ole 
Andrewson  at  Norway,  111.,  having  784  pages,  and  the  other 
printed  by  the   Scandinavian   Press   Association   at   Inmansville. 


The  American  Period 


453 


Wis.,  having  648  pages.  The  Norwegian  Synod  published  in  1870 
a  hymnal  called  "Synodens  Salmebog,"  revised  in  1903.  The 
United  Church  together  with  the  Hauge  Synod  published  in  1893  a 
revision  of  Landstad  (1869),  and  added  96  hymns,  making  730 
instead  of  634.  Hagen's  "Salmetoner"  was  issued  in  1915.  The 
Norwegian  Synod  in  1898  published  "Christian  Hymns,"  a  hym- 
nal for  the  congregation  and  Sunday  School.  That  same  year 
the  United  Church  issued  the  "Church  and  Sunday  School  Hym- 
nal." Of  the  309  hymns  in  the  "Christian  Hymns,"  and  of  the 
316  hymns  in  the  "Church  and  Sunday  School  Hymnal,"  about 
40  per  cent  were  taken  from  Lutheran  sources,  the  remaining 
60  per  cent  chiefly  from  the  Reformed.  From  1908  to  1913  a 
special  committee  of  12  men  from  the  Norwegian  Synod,  the 
United   Church  and  the   Hauge   Synod  compiled  the   "Lutheran 


John  Dahle 


Carlo  A.  Sperati 
Professors  of  Music 


F.  Melius  Christiansen 


Hymnary."  It  has  618  hymns,  of  which  7  per  cent  are  taken  from 
the  pre-Reformation  times,  40  per  cent  from  Lutheran  lands, 
and  53  per  cent  from  Reformed  sources.  The  aim  in  these  con- 
gregational books,  as  in  the  books  for  children  and  youth,  is  to 
select  only  the  best  as  to  doctrine,  poetry  and  music.  In  the  cre- 
ation of  the  "Lutheran  Hymnary  Junior,"  which  was  published 
in  1916  as  a  Sunday  school  book  jointly  by  the  three  Norwegian 
Synods  which  amalgamated  in  1917,  no  less  than  20,000  hymns 
were  tried  out.  From  this  rich  treasury  164  songs  were  chosen. 
The  best  seller  is  "Concordia,"  by  Bersagel,  Bo'e  and  Sigmond. 

Among  the  compilers  and  editors  of  hymnals  for  children  may 
be  mentioned :  Erik  Jensen,  who  published  16  song  books 
(1878-1898)  ;  C.  O.  Bro'haugh  (1879)  ;  P.  G.  0stby  (1885)  ;  D. 
G.  Ristad  (1897)  ;  N.  B.  Thvedt  and  O.  M.  Norlie  (1911)  ;  A. 
Bersagel,  V.  E.  Bo'e  and  S.  O.  Sigmond  (1915)  ;  D.  G.  Ristad, 
M.  O.  Wee,  L.  C.  Jacobson,  L.  P.  Thorkveen  and  O.  M.  Norlie 
(1916).  The  following  have  published  song  books  for  youth: 
S.  Krogness  (1858);  J.  H.  Mvhre  (1874);  M.  F.  Gjertsen 
(1877);   A.   Wright    (1877);   G.   Hoyme  and   L.   Lund    (1878- 


454  Norwegian  People  in  America 

1888)  ;  C.  O.  Brjzlhaugh  (1879)  ;  A.  Nelson  (1881)  ;  J.  P.  Gjert- 
sen  (1881)  ;  T.  S.  Reimestad  (1888)  ;  O.  Waldeland  (1888)  ;  T. 
S.  Reimestad  and  M.  F.  Gjertsen  (1897);  O.  M.  Anderson 
(1898)  ;  K.  B.  Birkeland  (1898)  ;  £.  Jensen  (1899) ;  L.  O.  and 
O.  M.  Anderson  (1913);  O.  H.  Sletten  (1914).  The  books  for 
the  congregation  and  for  the  Sunday  school  children  already 
mentioned  also  contain  hymns  and  songs  suitable  for  youth.  The 
pedagogical  principle  in  Lutheran  hymn  book  making  is  this : 
That  children  should  be  taught  what  they  ought  to  sing  and  would 
like  to  sing  when  they  grow  up,  and  the  best  is  not  too  good  for 
the  children.  Therefore  a  nucleus  of  the  finest  hymns  are  taught 
at  the  start,  around  which  are  gathered  during  youth  and  maturity 
larger  clusters  of  the  best  hymns  and  tunes  from  all  lands. 

A  number  of  excellent  choral  and  choir  books  have  been  is- 
sued. Knud  Henderson,  born  in  1835  in  Voss,  emigrated  1849, 
a  wagon  painter  by  trade,  studied  music  under  Root,  Chant,  and 
Wemmerstad  in  Chicago.  He  became  an  organist  and  music 
teacher,  and  was  the  first  Norwegian  in  America  to  organize  a 
singing  school.  He  published  the  first  Norwegian  book  of  chorals 
in  America  in  1865,  of  which  over  25,000  copies  have  been  sold. 
He  has  also  published  a  volume  of  national  songs,  text  books  for 
the  "salmodikon,"  and  other  music  books.  He  was  married  in 
1868  and  moved  to  a  farm  near  Cambridge,  Wis.  Though  90 
years  of  age,  he  is  in  good  trim.  Erik  Jensen  in  1880 
published  a  "Koralbog" ;  and  Olaf  Glaspe  in  1889  revised  Linde- 
man's  "Koralbog."  K.  C.  Holter  published  "Frydetoner"  (I-III) 
in  1893-1900,  the  bo6k  that  has  had  the  widest  circulation  among 
Norwegian  choir  singers.  E.  Jensen  published  "Scandinavian 
Songs"  (1890),  "Klokketoner"  (1896),  and  "Sangbog  for  Kirke- 
kor"  (1896).  L.  P.  Thorkveen  published  "Kirkesange  for 
Blandet  Kor"  (1905).  Together  with  Glasoe  he  published  the 
widely  used  book,  "Korsange"  (1903).  The  most  productive  and 
influential  of  the  choir  book  publishers  are  John  Dahle  and  F. 
Melius  Christiansen.  Dahle's  "Sangbog  for  Mandsforeninger" 
(1891),  "Fram"  (1898),  "Sangbog  for  Kirkekor"  (1908), 
"Nordisk  Sangalbum"  (1909),  "Jubilate"  (1900),  are  wonderful 
treasuries  of  song,  Christiansen's  "Kor  og  Kvartet  Sange," 
"Korsangeren"  (1901),  "Sangerhefte,"  "Sanggudstjeneste," 
"Song  Service,"  "Nationale  Sange,"  "Lette  Lyriske  Sange," 
"Fifty  Famous  Hymns,"  various  cantatas,  and,  particularly,  the 
"St.  Olaf  Choir  Series"  (I-V),  easily  belong  to  the  first  order 
of  music.  The  work  of  T.  S.  Reimestad,  author  of  "Sangalbum" 
(1914),  a  series  of  hymns  with  music  of  his  own  composition  or 
interpretation,  is  also  a  valuable  contribution  to  music.  Alfred 
Paulsen,  of  Chicago,  has  published  many  valuable  compositions 
for  piano,  organ  and  voice.  We  venture  to  say  that  when  his 
"Naar   fjordene  blaaner"    (When  the   Fjords  Are   Like   Violets 


The  American  Period  455 

Blue)  is  forgotten  by  Norsemen  it  will  be  because  the  last  Norse- 
man will  have  become  so  thoroughly  Americanized  as  to  have  for- 
gotten his  own  origin.    This  song  will  never  die. 

Instruction  in  music  is  given  at  every  Norwegian  school,  and 
music  is  a  fixed  part  of  the  daily  chapel  exercises.  The  most  con- 
spicuous example  of  vocal  training  performed  by  these  schools, 
is  no  doubt  the  St.  Olaf  Choir.  Eugene  E.  Simpson,  having 
heard  this  choir  sing  in  New  York,  of  his  own  initiative,  wrote  a 
history  of  it  (1921),  a  book  of  192  pages.  This  choir  has  sung  in 
all  the  principal  cities  of  the  United  States  and  in  many  of  the  great 
cities  of  Europe.  It  has  sung  before  presidents  and  kings  and  the 
best  musical  critics  of  the  world,  and  everywhere  the  enthusiasm 
is  as  flattering  as  it  is  spontaneous,  with  never  a  dissenting  note 
from  the  keenest  critics.  "The  Sun"  (Pittsburgh),  remarks: 
"This  organization  of  fifty  young  voices  sang  Bach  motets, 
chorales,  double  choruses,  Mendelssohn  and  Gretchaninoff  works 
with  an  ease  that  was  simply  staggering."  The  "Washington 
Herald"  says :  "Their  work  is  an  exposition  of  choral  singing 
which  is  probably  without  equal."  The  "Ohio  State  Journal" 
(Columbus)  said:  "As  a  whole  the  program  was  an  amazing 
commentary  on  the  life  of  real  music.  From  the  opening  num- 
ber, Luther's  favorite  hymn,  'A  Mighty  Fortress,'  it  continued 
number  after  number,  all  the  work  of  masters  of  the  earlier  days 
of  the  Protestant  faith.  Memorial  Hall  was  the  only  place  where 
this  music  would  have  seemed  fitting.  This  little  group  of  men 
and  women  from  the  small  Minnesota  college  in  Northfield 
dominated  the  great  building  and  filled  it  with  song  until  the  very 
rafters  rang  with  their  hosannas."  Some  Negroes  who  attended 
the  concert  at  St.  Louis  said  that  they  thought  the  angels  from 
Heaven  had  come  down  to  earth  to  sing.  Says  the  "Akron 
Press" :  "The  atmosphere  created  by  the  choir  was  marvelous — 
organ-like  tones,  pure  in  quality,  a  unit  in  expression,  made  a  di- 
rect appeal  to  the  heart.  The  entire  program  was  a  refreshment, 
an  inspiration  and  a  power.  It  was  a  sermon  in  music,  and 
through  the  poetic  forms  one  felt  that  God  surely  spoke."  Hun- 
dreds of  quotations  of  this  sort  from  the  pens  of  men  like  Karl 
Nissen,  Johannes  Haarklou,  Herman  Devries,  Hubbard,  Moore, 
Gaul,  Keeble,  Aldrich,  Sanborn,  Harry  Sundby-Hansen,  Carl  G. 
O.  Hansen,  Pierre  Key,  Gabriel,  Krebhiel,  Rogers,  all  critics  of 
the  first  class  in  Norway  and  America,  can  be  given.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  the  St.  Olaf  Choir  is  the  more  remarkable  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  its  members  are  most  of  them  boys  and  girls  from  the 
farms  and  with  little  or  no  musical  training.  It  should  be  noted 
that  this  choir  sings  "a  capella." 

The  Norwegian  schools  pay  much  attention  to  instrumental 
instruction,  piano,  organ,  violin,  orchestra  and  band.  Luther 
College  Band  is  unquestionably  the  most  famous  Norwegian  col- 


456 


Norivegian  People  in  America 


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The  American  Period 


457 


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458  Norwegian  People  in  America 

lege  band  in  America,  although  St.  Olaf,  in  the  person  of  John 
A.  Bergh,  has  developed  a  college  band  of  remarkable  efficiency. 
The  two  chief  names  in  the  history  of  Luther  College  Band  are 
Haldor  J.  Hanson  and  Carlo  Alberto  Sperati.  When  Professor 
Hanson  was  at  Luther  he  increased  the  membership  of  the  band 
from  a  baker's  dozen  to  fifty-three.  He  increased  with  character- 
istic energy  the  Musical  Library  and  founded  the  Musical  Union. 
He  created  a  magnificent  orchestra,  and  the  Choral  Union  which 
presents  annually  some  of  the  greatest  of  the  sacred  oratorios  and 
cantatas.  He  organized  the  Luther  College  Museum  and  collect- 
ed many  thousand  articles  of  great  value.  When  he  left  Luther, 
he  became  the  proprietor  of  the  Northern  Book  and  Music  Co., 
Chicago. 

His  successor,  Prof.  Sperati,  comes  from  a  musical  family. 
His  parents  were  musical ;  his  children  are  musical.  His  father, 
an  Italian  musician,  married  a  Danish  girl  and  finally  settled  at 
Christiania,  where  he  was  a  church  organist  and  musical  director 
of  brilliant  and  solid  worth,  and  famed  from  Turin  to  Trondhjem. 
The  boy  Carlo  learned  to  play  the  violin,  piano  and  organ,  but 
was  especially  good  on  the  drums.  At  the  Tivoli  Gardens,  Copen- 
hagen, he  played  before  the  crowned  heads  and  in  Christiania  he 
received  a  beautiful  set  of  studs  from  the  dowager  Queen  Jose- 
phine. He  attended  a  navigation  school  and  sailed  the  seven 
seas.  On  one  occasion  when  his  boat  stopped  at  Havana,  he  went 
on  shore  and  stepped  into  a  fine  hotel.  A  piano  was  standing- 
there  with  the  paid  musicians  resting  for  the  moment  from  their 
task.  One  of  his  companions  said,  "Sperati,  you  go  and  play  us 
a  tune  on  the  piano."  The  musicians  beckoned  him  to  try  it, 
smiling  to  themselves  at  the  thought  of  this  sailor  lad  playing  on 
the  piano.  But  their  smiles  were  soon  changed  to  wonder  and 
amazement  as  he  played  by  heart  with  exquisite  technique  the 
masterpieces  of  Italy,  Germany  and  Norway.  The  room  was  soon 
filled  with  enchanted  listeners,  and  after  an  hour  or  two  of  play- 
ing in  which  there  was  absolute  quiet,  the  delighted  audience 
rushed  up  to  him  to  give  him  their  heartfelt  thanks. 

Through  his-  life  as  a  sailor  Sperati  had  a  burning  desire  to 
study  theology  and  through  the  instrumentality  of  Sister  Eliza- 
beth Fedde,  he  was  led  to  go  to  Luther  College  and  later  to 
Luther  Seminary,  after  which  he  went  into  the  Norwegian  min- 
istry at  Bellingham,  1891-1894,  Parkland,  1894-1895,  Tacoma, 
1895-1905.  He  became  instructor  in  music  at  Pacific  Academy 
in  1894  and  director  of  choirs  all  along  Puget  Sound.  He  was 
the  first  choir  director  of  the  Norwegian  Singers  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  and  held  the  position  13  years,  1903-1916.  Rudolf  Moeller, 
the  composer,  is  now  president  of  this  association.  In  1905  he 
came  to  Luther  College,  and  has  won  distinction  as  choir  director 
and  musical  instructor  of   national  and  international   repute.    In 


The  American  Period 


459 


Haldor  J.  Hanson  Theo.  S.  Reimestad         Peter  H.  P.  Rydning 

Musicians,  Composers,   Teachers,  Directors 

1914  the  climax  of  band  tours  was  achieved  when  the  band  rep- 
resented Luther  College  and  Norwegian-American  culture  in  the 
field  of  music  at  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  Norway's  inde- 
pendence. A  total  of  127  concerts  were  played  besides,  no  doubt, 
an  equal  number  of  special  short  concerts  and  serenades.  Ten  dif- 
ferent countries  and  six  capital  cities,  namely :  Washington, 
Christiania,  Copenhagen,  Berlin,  Paris  and  London,  were  visited. 
There  were  sixty  band  members  on  the  Norway  tour,  besides 
seven  others.  The  press  notices  concerning  Prof.  Sperati  and 
the  Luther  College  Concert  Band  everywhere  have  been  highly 
favorable.  The  three  following  are  illustrative :  "This  band  is 
without  doubt  one  of  the  finest  amateur  organizations  in  the  world 
today,  and  has  played  in  every  city  of  note  in  the  United  States 
and  several  foreign  countries." — "Daily  Avalanche,"  Glenwood 
Springs,  Colo.  "Mr.  Sperati  is  a  masterly  leader,  and  the  baton 
in  his  hands  becomes  a  "wand  to  sway  his  men  at  will.  He  has  a 
crisp,  clean-cut  style  of  directing,  and  is  absolutely  reliable ;  and 
this,  combined  with  a  refined  musical  temperament,  profound 
understanding  of  his  art  and  command  of  his  men,  can  produce 
but  one  result,  success." — "Everett  Morning  Tribune,"  Everett, 
Washington.  "That  this  able  and  well  disciplined  corps  is  mas- 
ter of  things  of  sterling  artistic  value,  was  shown  by  their  rendi- 
tion of  Grieg's  'Peer  Gynt  Suite'  and  Liszt's  'Second  Plungarian 
Rhapsody,'  which  was  artistically  and  effectively  played." — 
"Verdens  Gang,"  Oslo,  Norway. 

In  addition  to  the  musical  organizations  which  flourish  in  the 
Norwegian  schools  and  congregations,  there  are  a  number  of 
other  musical  associations,  local,  state  and  national.  There  is  a 
Choral  Union  of  the  choirs  in  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church. 
Dr.  Paul  M.  Glasoe  is  the  president.  There  is  an  association  of 
men's  choirs  which  includes  a  large  number  of  strong  local  or- 
ganizations. Male  chorus  singing  is  one  of  the  most  unique  con- 
tributions  of    Norwegians   to   American   song.      The    first   male 


460 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


O.  M.   Oleson  Alfred   Paulsen,  J.  Arndt   Bergh 

Ft.  Dodge,  Iowa  Chicago,  111.  Northfield,    Minn. 

Far-famed  Musicians 

chorus  established  by  the  Norwegians  in  America  was  organized 
at  Granddad  Bluff,  La  Crosse,  June  1,  1869,  by  C.  R.  Jackwitz. 
It  was  called  the  "Normanna  Choir."  Hauman  G.  Haugan, 
noted  Chicago  banker  and  railroad  promoter,  was  the  first  pres- 
ident. Emil  Berg  was  the  first  instructor.  The  writer's  father, 
Ole  H.  Norlie,  from  Lillehammer,  Norway,  was  along  organizing 
it.  A  few  years  later  he  helped  organize  a  similar  organization 
in  Sioux  City,  and  in  1891  the  "Fram  Singing  Society,"  also  of 
Sioux  City,  and  he  was  a  member  of  the  United  Scandinavian 
Singers  of  America  who  sang  so  sweetly  at  the  Columbian  Ex- 
position in  1893.  A  great  number  of  these  societies  have  sprung 
up  here  and  there.  Some  of  them  have  had  only  a  short  existence, 
others  are  still  virile,  as,  for  example:  Luren,  Gauken  and  Grieg, 
in  Winneshiek  County,  Iowa.  Luren  was  organized  in  Decorah 
in  1874,  and  celebrated  its  fifty-first  anniversary  March 
17,  1825.  The  annual  song  conventions  (sangerfest)  of  the  Nor- 
wegian male  choirs  are  indeed  most  impressive  and  win  from 
the  American  public  of  every  nationality  unstinted  praise.  The 
Norwegian  Singing  Association  of  America,  organized  in  1892,  has 
at  present  32  choirs  in  its  membership,  located  in  six  states.  The 
association  publishes  a  musical  monthly,  "Sangerhilsen,"  edited 
by  Th.  F.  Hamann,  the  secretary,  4009  Harriet  Avenue,  Min- 
neapolis. The  president  is  H.  L.  Oftedahl,  Chicago ;  A.  C.  Floan, 
St.  Paul,  is  vice  president ;  Th.  F.  Hamann,  Minneapolis,  is  sec- 
retary; Anton  O.  Saetrang,  Chicago,  treasurer;  Fred.  Wick,  Sioux 
City,  and  I.  N.  S0dahl,  Duluth,  the  choir  directors.  O.  M.  Ole- 
son, Ft.  Dodge,  is  the  honorary  president.  Oleson  is  a  druggist. 
He  is  a  man  of  many  interests  outside  of  his  professional  work. 
He  has  given  his  city  a  very  beautiful  park  called  the  Oleson 
Park,  has  donated  $35,000.00  to  the  Lutheran  Hospital  there,  and 
has  for  many  years  given  an  annual  prize  of  $50.00  for  the  best 
literary  production  in  Norwegian  and  $100.00  for  the  best  musi- 


The  American  Period  461 

cal  composition  by  a  Norwegian.  He  is  himself  a  splendid 
musician  and  director,  and  the  author  of  a  number  of  standard 
compositions,  as  :  "In  Flanders  Field." 

Aside  from  Christiansen,  Dahle,  Reimestad.  Paulsen,  and  Ole- 
son,  there  have  been  a  cheerful  number  of  composers  bearing 
Norwegian  names.  J.  Rode  Jacobson  has  been  a  very  successful 
composer.  In  1920  he  was  awarded  the  first  prize  of  $100.00  by 
the  Norwegian  Singers'  Society  of  America  for  his  composition 
"Valkyrien,"  which  was  sung  by  a  male  chorus  of  700  voices  at 
the  Duluth  convention  in  1920.  Again,  in  1925,  he  won  the  first 
prize  for  his  cantata  in  honor  of  the  Norse- American  Centennial. 
He  has  written  "Berceuse,"  "Foraarsjubel,"  "Vaer  snil  mot  mor," 
"Lek  paa  engen,"  "September  Rose,"  and  others.  His  organ 
teacher  was  Peter  Lindeman  of  Christiania.  He  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Conservatory  of  Christiania,  and  has  studied  under 
famous  masters  at  Berlin.  He  is  the  or- 
ganist and  musical  director  of  Christ  Lu- 
theran Church,  Chicago,  conducts  a  music 
school  and  lectures  on  missions  and  music. 
Another  Norwegian-American  composer  is 
Signe  Lund.  In  1917  she  competed  with 
600  other  composers  and  won  the  prize  of 
$500.00  awarded  by  the  National  Arts  Club 
of  New  York  for  the  best  American  war 
song,  entitled,  "The  Road  to  France."  She 
composed  the  music  for  "Du  Lann,"  which 
was  written    for  the   Norwegian    Singers'  Siene~Lund 

Association  and  sung  by  them  at  the 
Sangerfest  in  Fargo,  1912.  She  wrote  the  text  and  music  to  "Mor 
Norge,"  dedicated  to  the  Minnesota  Singers  who  visited  Norway 
in  1923.     Lives  now  at  Oslo. 

Among  the  music  directors  not  already  mentioned  the  follow- 
ing are  representatives:  P.  H.  P.  Rydning.  United  Church 
Seminary;  Erick  Oulie,  Minneapolis  Orchestra  and  Choir; 
Henrich  M.  Gunnersen,  church  organist,  composer  and  director, 
Minneapolis;  Paul  Harold  Ensrud,  Red  Wing  Seminary,  Con- 
cordia College  and  the  University  of  Michigan;  Oscar  I.  Herts- 
gaard,  Concordia  College  and  Minneapolis  ;  L.  Josephine  Wright, 
Mayville  Normal  School;  Emil  Biprn,  painter,  sculptor,  musician 
and  choir  director  par  excellence,  Chicago ;  Christian  Sinding, 
Eastman  School  of  Music,  Rochester;  6le  Windingstad,  New 
York  City;  Alf.  Klingenberg,  Eastman  School;  Oscar  R.  Overby, 
Concordia  College,  Park  Region  College,  St.  Olaf  College ;  Oscar 
Lyders,  Waldorf  College ;  Carl  R.  Youngdahl,  Augustana  College  ; 
Martin  Bjornson,  Oak  Grove  Seminary;  Edith  Ouist,  Concordia 
College;    Harry    Anderson,    Augsburg    Seminary;    Jo     (Philip) 


462 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Troniz,  Dallas,  Texas,  Conservatory,  Hollywood,  California;  Mr. 
Lindtner,  choir  director  Scandinavian  Singing  Association,  Chi- 
cago, and  organist,  San  Francisco ;  Frederick  Wick,  Sioux  City,  la. 
The  following  stand  in  the  front  rank  among  the  singers: 
Andrew  J.  Boe,  Vigleik  E.  Boe,  C.  N.  Engelstad,  Erik  Bye,  Oscar 

A.  Grp'nseth,  Mus.  D.,  Ralph  Hammer,  Christian  Mathiesen,  H. 

B.  Thorgrimsen,  Albert  Arveschou,  Theodor  S.  Reimestad,  Mr. 
Norskou,  Carsten  Woll  and  Paul  G.  Schmidt.  Among  the  women 
singers  of  note  are :  Adelaide  Hjertaas  Roe,  Mabel  Jacobs, 
Gertrude     Boe-Overby,     Dikka     Bothne,     Hannah     Christensen- 

Dorrum,      Carolyn      Jacobson-Moe, 
Alice   C.  Jacobson-Arneson,  Blanche 
*^    j^k  Wollan-Rovelstad,   Jennie   Skurdals- 

M  void,      Sofie     Hammer-M  o  e  1 1  e  r  , 

Mf  fffw  Madame     Bergljot     Aalrud    Tillisch, 

and  Olive  Fremstad,  an  operatic  star 
Jtk,    '  of  the  first  magnitude. 

Of  instrumental  soloists  the  num- 
ber is  legion :  Andrew  Onstad  is  a 
remarkable  clarinetist  and  band  di- 
rector; Marie  Elizabeth  Toohey  is  a 
violinist  and  orchestra  leader  at  Aug- 
ustana  College.  She  is  a  graduate  of 
Leipzig  Conservatory  of  Music. 
Hilma  Louise  Wright-Drake  is  an 
expert  on  the  piano;  so  also  are 
Lulu  Glimme,  Mathilde  Finseth- 
Roseland.  Hjalmar  Rabe,  of  Chi- 
cago, has  the  distinction  of  being 
one  of  the  foremost  trombone 
players  in  America.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Symphony 
Orchestra.  Maja  Bang,  daughter  of  Bishop  Bang,  is  a  violinist 
in  New  York.  Her  book,  "Violin  Methods,"  is  used  by  40,000 
teachers  of  violin.  In  1922  she  married  Baron  Hoehn.  Nils 
Rein  is  a  good  violinist.  Adolf  Olsen,  Minneapolis,  as  a  violinist 
and  director,  is  in  great  demand.  Vittorio  Sperati  plays  the  Xylo- 
phone with  remarkable  technique.  Pearl  Gran  won  the  $1,650.00 
prize  in  piano  playing  at  the  Cosmopolitan  School  of  Music,  Chi- 
cago, May  19,  1925.  George  Markhus  is  a  manufacturer  of  good 
violins.  Knute  Reindahl  is  also  a  violin  maker  and  president  of 
the  Violin  Makers'  Association  of  America. 

Most  famous  of  Norwegian-American  musicians  was  Ole 
Bull,  the  man  who  first  introduced  Norwegian  Music  to  the 
American  public.  Auber  Forestier  says  of  him  in  "The  Norway 
Music  Album" :  "When  the  young  artist  sallied  forth  into  the 
world  with  his  violin,  in  1829,  the  word  Norway  scarcely  existed 
in  the  European  vocabulary ;  but  he  carried  with  him  the  name  of 


Olive    Fremstad    as    "Briin- 

hilde"  in  "G0tterdamme- 

rung" 


The  American  Period  463 

his  Fatherland,  that  poor  little  beginner  among  nations,  and  dur- 
ing his  long  and  brilliant  career  he  glorified  it  wherever  he  won 
triumphs  for  his  own  name.  He  never  forgot  to  consider  him- 
self a  representative  of  Norway,  wherever  he  went  he  talked  of 
his  native  land,  her  people,  her  mountains,  her  fjords,  her  won- 
derful natural  grandeur,  and  played  her  folk-music  in  the  high- 
est circles  of  Europe  in  the  presence  of  kings  and  emperors. 
When  the  home  people  became  aware  that  he  thus  carried  about 
with  him  what  no  one  else  would  have  ventured  to  bring  forward, 
and  that  it  found  favor  among  those  whom  the  world  honored, 
courage  was  infused  into  them.  Ole  Bull  gave  his  native  land 
self-confidence — the  noblest  gift  he  could  have  made  it." 

The  urge  of  self-expression  within  the  Norwegian  group  has 
at  times  taken  the  form  of  painting  and  sculpture.     Among  the 

Norwegian  painters  are:  Herb j 0m  Gausta, 
Painters  Arne  Berger,  August  Klagstad,  Sarah  Kirke- 

berg-Raugland,  Olaf  M.  Brauner,  Jonas 
Lie,  Emil  BipYn,  Sigurd  Schow,  Lars  Haukanes,  Alexander 
Grinager,  Brynjulf  Strandenses  and  Amanda  Bloom-Zainoff. 
Gausta  studied  in  Italy,  Germany  and  Norway  and  lived  and 
labored  as  a  bachelor  in  solitude  in  Minneapolis.  He  made  many 
hundred  paintings  of  men,  and  pictures  from  life.  The  pictures 
"The  Lay  Preaching"  and  "Grace  before  Meat,"  in  this  book  are 
copied  from  two  of  his  masterpieces.  Arne  Berger  is  a  very  good 
portrait  and  altar  painter.  His  portraits  of  Thomas  Lajord 
and  O.  P.  Holman,  for  example,  are  masterpieces.  His 
studio  is  at  Minneapolis.  Sigvart  Sieverts  has  won  a  national 
prize  by  his  painting  "A  Snow  Stormy  Day."  He  painted 
the  "Restaurationen"  reproduced  in  this  book  on  page  121. 
Klagstad  worked  in  portrait  studios  of  Chicago,  Brooklyn 
and  Boston  for  eight  years.  He  had  a  studio  at  Mari- 
nette, Wisconsin,  where  altar  paintings  and  portraits  were  the 
principal  products  of  his  brush.  In  1915  he  moved  to  Minneapo- 
lis, where  he  specializes  in  altar  paintings.  Among  the  outstand- 
ing portraits  by  him  are:  Martin  Luther,  Bjo'rnstjerne  BjoYnson, 
James  J.  Hill,  T.  H.  Dahl,  Agnes  Mellby  and  Judge  J.  W.  Stone. 
Mrs.  Raugland  was  an  excellent  altar  picture  painter.  Brauner 
is  head  of  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts  at  Cornell  University. 
His  father  was  a  wood  engraver.  He  has  won  several  fine  art 
prizes.  Lie  is  a  nephew  of  Jonas  Lie,  the  distinguished  novelist 
of  the  same  name.  Harry  Sundby-Hansen  says  of  Lie:  "Few 
painters  of  any  immigrant  group  have  achieved  the  fame  that 
Mr.  Lie  has.  His  subjects  show  great  versatility.  He  depicts  the 
storm,  the  thunder  cloud,  snow  covered  hills  and  rocks,  dark,  half 
hidden  rivers  and  forest  streams,  fishing  boats  and  a  great  va- 
riety of  other  subjects.    Jonas  Lie  has  painted  New  York  as  per- 


464 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


haps  no  other  artist.  Prosaic  things  like  city  streets  and  bridges 
he  has  interpreted  in  color,  and  he  presents  them  to  the  onlooker 
in  pictures  of  rare  artistic  beauty.  He  has  painted  the  Panama 
Canal  during  construction  operations,  and  these  paintings  are  de- 
clared by  critics  to  be  a  color-epic  to  labor.  Pictures  by  Jonas  Lie 
hang  in  the  Carnegie  Institute,  Pittsburgh,  in  the  Luxembourg 
Gallery,  Paris,  and  in  many  clubs  and  public  institutions  in  Europe 
and  America."  Emil  Bi0rn  is  not  only  a  versatile  painter  but  a 
versatile  artist  in  all  respects.  He  is  a  sculptor,  poet  and  musi- 
cian. Concerning  him  Olaf  Huseby  says  in  "Den  Nye  Heimen:" 
"Director  Emil  Bi0rn  is  the  idol  of  every  singer,  an  excellent 
director,  an  artist  by  profession,  wonderful  as  a  man.    Lives  in 


H.  Gausta 
Portrait  Painter 


Jens  O.   Gr0ndahl 

Author  of 

"America,  My  Country" 


A.  Klagstad 
Altar  Painter 


Chicago ;  was  born  in  Christiania."  Schow  is  well  known  for  his 
excellent  color  works..  Haukanes  is  a  painter  of  Hardanger 
landscapes.  One  of  these  pictures  hangs  in  the  Minneapolis  In- 
stitute of  Art ;  another,  in  the  Chicago-Norwegian  Club.  In  1923 
he  became  teacher  of  art  at  the  Academy  of  Arts  in  Winnipeg, 
Manitoba.  Grinager  is  a  Minnesota  man  who  does  "fine  work  in 
landscapes  with  babbling  brooks  and  sunsets,  rich  in  lights  and 
shadows."  Strandenses  excels  as  an  illustrator.  One  of  his 
Liberty  Loan  Campaign  posters  was  considered  remarkable. 
Mrs.  Zainoff  was  a  young  painter  of  much  promise,  an  exponent 
of  the  modern  realistic  school.  Her  specialty  was  landscape  work 
with  high  color  effects.  She  died  March  4,  1925.  How  many 
of  the  pictures  by  these  and  other  Norwegian  artists  will  live  on, 
it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  it  is  safe  to  conclude  with  Hawthorne, 
that :  "One  picture  in  a  thousand,  perhaps,  ought  to  live  in  the 
applause  of  mankind,  from  generation  to  generation  until  the 
colors  fade  and  blacken  out  of  sight,  or  the  canvas  rot  entirely 
away"  ("Marble  Faun"). 


The  American  Period  465 

As  representatives  of  the  sculptors,  Jacob  Fjelde  easily  is  in 
the  front  rank.    He  had  his  studio  in  Minneapolis.    The  Ole  Bull 
Statue    in    Loring    Park   is   a   sample   of    his 
Sculptors  handiwork.    His  son,  Paul  Fjelde,  with  studio 

in  New  York,  has  modeled  the  Colonel  Hans 
C.  Heg  monument  which  is  this  year  to  be  raised  in  Madi- 
son, Wisconsin.  Dr.  Herman  O.  Fjelde,  physician  at  Abercrom- 
bie,  North  Dakota,  1897,  and  Fargo,  1912,  was  a  builder  of  monu- 
ments. He  took  the  lead  among  his  countrymen  in  having  a  me- 
morial erected  at  the  Agricultural  College  in  Fargo  to  the  memory 
of  Bjo'rnson,  also  one  of  Wergeland,  at  Fargo,  and  later  one  in 
honor  of  Rolf  Ganger.  An  Ibsen  monument  was  raised  at  Wah- 
peton  through  his  hardy  work.  At  Moorhead  the  monuments 
commemorating  Ivar  Aasen  and  Hans  Nielsen  Hauge,  which 
stand  on  the  Concordia  Campus,  are  the  result  of  his  indefatigable 
toil  and  insuppressible  idealism.  He  believed  that  the  sight  of 
these  memorials  would  be  an  inspiration  to  his  people  to  live  more 
noble  lives,  and  to  treasure  the  inheritance  of  the  land  of  their 
pioneer  fathers.  Hendrik  Christian  Andersen  studied  art  and 
architecture  at  Boston,  Paris,  Naples  and  Rome.  His  principal 
works  as  sculptor  are :  "Fountain  of  Life,"  "Fountain  of  Im- 
mortality," "Jacob  Wrestling  with  the  Angels,"  "Study  of  an 
Athlete,"  busts  and  medallions  and  portraits  of  Pope  Benedictus 
XV.  He  is  the  founder  of  the  World  Conscience  Society,  and 
author  of  a  book  entitled  "Creation  of  a  World  Center  of  Com- 
munication," in  two  volumes.  Christian  Schio'tt  is  a  pianist  em- 
ployed by  the  Cahill's  Telharmonic  Music  Company  of  New  York, 
and  a  sculptor,  having  his  studio  with  the  Society  of  Independent 
Artists,  Waldorf-Astoria.  Among  his  works  is  a  bust  of  the 
tennis  queen,  Molla  Bjurstedt-Mallory.  Sigurd  Neandross, 
Ridgefield,  New  Jersey,  has  won  great  distinction  by  his  works 
of  sculpture,  notably,  "The  Kiss,"  "The  Egyptian  Widow"  and 
"The  Song  of  the  Sea."  Trygve  Hammer,  New  York,  "has  done 
good  work  in  stone,  wood,  and  copper,  and  has  endeavored  to 
awaken  an  interest  in  Norwegian  wood  carving  and  ornamenta- 
tion. He  is  a  director  of  the  Society  of  Independent  Artists  and 
has  exhibited  in  the  Society's  annual  exhibits  in  New  York." 
Prof.  E.  Kr.  Johnsen,  Luther  Theological  Seminary,  was  an  ex- 
pert wood  carver,  and  Professor  M.  O.  Bo'ckman,  D.D.,  president 
of  Luther  Theological  Seminary,  paints  landscapes  remarkably 
well.  Gilbert  P.  Riswold,  born  of  Norwegian  immigrant  parents 
on  a  farm  near  Baltic,  South  Dakota,  located  now  at  Chicago,  is 
a  sculptor  of  unusual  promise.  His  statue  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
standing  in  front  of  the  State  House  in  Springfield,  is  declared 
by  critics  to  be  one  of  the  finest  works  of  art  in  America.  This 
work  was  accepted  in  a  competition  participated  in  by  more  than 


466 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


75  artists,  including  several  of  America's  leading  sculptors.     In 
his  hands : 

The  stone  unhewn  and  cold 
Becomes  a  living  mould, 
The  more  the  marble  wastes 
The  more  the  statue  grows. 

On  the  basis  that  the  Norwegians  in  America  comprise  2  per 
cent  of  the  population  and  have  produced  2  per  cent  of  the  medical 

men,  there  are  2,900  Norwegian  physicians  and 
Doctors  surgeons  in  America,  also  100  osteopaths,  270 

veterinary  surgeons,  1,125  dentists,  besides 
2,982  nurses.  Most  of  these  settle  down  in  Norwegian  communi- 
ties, but  they  are  found  also  in  the  remotest  sections  of  the  land 
practising  their  profession. 


Ludvig  Hektoen  Ingeborg  Rasmussen  Thrond   Stabo 

Illustrious  Norwegian  Physicians 


The  greater  number  of  the  Norwegian  pioneer  doctors  had 
their  training  at  the  University  of  Christiania.  The  alumni  direc- 
tory of  the  University  covering  the  first  70  years  of  its  work  men- 
tions about  70  of  the  medical  graduates  who  emigrated  to  America. 
Such  names  as  the  following  are  more  or  less  familiar  to  those  who 
are  acquainted  with  the  pioneer  settlements :  Hans  Christian 
Brandt  (1814-88),  graduated  1838,  emigrated  1840,  chief  resi- 
dence Kansas  City,  Mo.  Eduard  Boeckman  (1849-..),  class 
of  1867,  emigrated  1886,  St.  Paul.  Eye  specialist.  He  has  twice 
been  honored  by  his  Alma  Mater  with  honorary  degrees — the  M. 
D.  in  1882  and  the  Ph.  D.  in  1911 ;  the  King  of  Norway  in  1911 
knighted  him  Commander  of  the  Order  of  St.  Olav.  Berent  Mar- 
tin Behrens  (1843-11),  class  of  1868,  came  to  America  in  1882, 
located  in  Chicago.  Christian  Christensen  (1852 — ),  class  of 
1879;  emigrated  1888;  surgeon  at  La  Crosse  Lutheran  Hospital. 
Johan  Dundas  (Dass)  came  to  Wisconsin  in  1847,  returned  to 
Norway  and  came  back  in  1850,  locating  at  Cambridge.  Born  in 
1812  in  Norway;  died  in  1883  at  Madison,  Wis.     Anders  Daae 


The  American  Period 


467 


(1852-24),  Christiania,  M.D.,  1878;  to  America,  1880,  Chicago. 
Johan  Andreas  de  Besche  (1855 — ),  M.  D.,  1883,  emigrated 
1884,  Milwaukee;  he  returned  to  Norway  in  1913.  He  is  the  au- 
thor of  the  Wisconsin  law  requiring  certificate  of  good  health  as 
a  requisite  for  marriage.  Adolf  Gundersen,  M.  D.,  1890;  surgeon, 
La  Crosse  Lutheran  Hospital,  1891 — ;  president,  Security  Sav- 
ings Bank.  SoYen  Johan  Hanssen  (1820-?),  Christiania,  1855, 
to  Koshkonong,  Wis.,  1856;  in  the  Fifteenth  Wisconsin  Regiment; 
author  of  "Orthodoxi  og  Kristendom,"  1865.  Jacob  Hvoslef 
(1865 — ),  M.  D.,  1891,  professor  of  orthopedic  surgery,  Ham- 
line  University,  practising  physician  in  Minneapolis  and  at 
International  Falls.  Jens  Andreas  Holmboe  (1827-76),  M.  D., 
1853;  emigrated,  1863;  leper  specialist.  Knut  O.  Hoegh  (1844- 
-),   M.   D.,   1869;   La   Crosse,   1869-88;   Minneapolis,    1888 — . 


Eduard  Boeckmann, 
M.D.,  Ph.D. 
St.  Paul 


Anna   Sigmond, 

D.H. 

New  York 


Carl  M.  Roan. 
M.D. 

Minneapolis 


Professor  at  Hamline  University  for  many  years.  Michael  Iver- 
sen  (1861 — ),  M.  D.,  1890,  Stoughton,  Wis.,  1891 — .  Johan 
Balthazar  Meyer  (1851-18),  M.  D.,  1877,  Chicago,  1884-18,  lung 
specialist.  Bernhard  J.  Madsen,  Chicago  and  Cambridge,  1851. 
Henrik  H.  Nissen  (1864 — ),  Albert  Lea  and  Minneapolis,  1889 
— ;  specialist  in  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat.  Johan  A.  R.  Nanne- 
stad;  Madison,  1891,  Canton,  1895,  Bricelyn,  1901,  and  Albert 
Lea,  1906.  Axel  C.  Rosenkrantz  (1844-17),  M.  D.,  1869;  emi- 
grated, 1873.  Karl  Ferdinand  Sandberg  (1855 — )  ;  to  America, 
1882,  professor  of  gynecology,  Jenner  Medical  College.  Theodor 
A.  Schytte  (1812-2),  M.  D.,  1840;  lived  in  America  five  years, 
1843-48;  wrote  on  his  return  to  Norway  a  handbook  for  emigrants, 
published  in  Swedish  at  Stockholm  in  1849:  "Vagledning  for 
Emigranter."  Tonnes  A.  Thams  (1848-12),  Fargo,  1884 — . 
Thomas  D.  Warloe,  (1867-23),  Chicago.  Also  a  musician.  Trond 
Stabo  (1870 — ),  Spring  Grove,  1895,  Decorah,  1906 — .  Nor- 
wegian vice  consul,  president  of  Luther  College  Board  of  Trustees. 
Not  less  conspicuous,  able,  or  conscientious  than  their  Chris- 
tiania-trained   brethren   are   the   Norwegian   doctors   educated   in 


468  Norwegian  People  in  America 

America.  Perhaps  first  among  these  in  recognized  standing  in  the 
scientific  world  is  Ludvig  Hektoen,  pathologist.  Born  at  Westby, 
Wis.,  July  2,  1863 ;  trained  at  Luther  College,  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  and  Rush,  Chicago,  with  graduate  study  at 
Upsala,  Prague  and  Berlin,  head  professor  of  pathology  and  mor- 
bid anatomy  at  Rush  and  University  of  Chicago  and  director  of 
McCormick  Institute  for  Infectious  Diseases,  etc.  The  Univer- 
sity of  Christiania  gave  him  an  honorary  M.  D.  in  1911  ;  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  created  him  Sc.  D.  in  1912,  the  University  of 
Wisconsin  likewise  in  1916.     He  is  an  author  and  editor. 

Of  other  authors  may  be  mentioned  Dr.  Carl  M.  Roan  (1878- 
— ),  Minneapolis,  who  has  written  a  practical  hand  book  for  the 
average  man — "Sygdom,  Sundhet  og  Velvsere"  (Sickness,  Health 
and  Happiness).  He  has  contributed  health  talks  to  "Familiens 
Magasin"  since  1913.  He  has  taught  at  the  Minneapolis  Dea- 
coness Training  School  for  Nurses,  has  been  treasurer  of  the 
Lutheran  Free  Church,  and  has  been  a  promoter  of  every  good 
cause  within  his  circle.  Fred.  Voss  Mohn  (1856 — ),  Los  An- 
geles, winner  in  a  prize  contest  on  the  "Therapy  of  Vaginal  Dis- 
eases" (1912),  is  the  editor  of  a  health  magazine,  "For  Doktoren 
Kommer." 

Albert  C.  Amundson  (1855-1919),  Cambridge,  wrote  a  house- 
hold medical  -book  in  Norwegian.  Herman  O.  Fjelde  (1866- 
1918),  a  graduate  of  Minnesota,  practised  medicine  at  Aber- 
crombie  and  Fargo,  and  erected  statues  in  honor  of  great  Nor- 
wegians— Rolf  Ganger,  Wergeland,  Haugef  Aasen,  BjoYnson,  Ib- 
sen. Irenaeus  E.  Krohn  (1867 — ),  Black  River  Falls,  Wis- 
consin, built  up  a  Norwegian  museum  as  a  side  line.  Jacob 
Wright  Magelssen  (1843 — ),  a  Rush  graduate,  has  practised 
at  Koshkonong  and  Rushford,  Minnesota,  since  1866.  Dr.  Jonas 
Rein  Nilsen(1845 — ),  Brooklyn,  is  a  professor  of  gynecology 
at  the  Postgraduate  Medical  School,  Brooklyn.  Gerhard  S.  C.  H. 
Paoli  (1815-1898)  was  a  professor  at  Women's  Medical  College, 
Chicago.  Separated  fusel-oil  from  alcohol.  Got  gold  medal  at 
World's  Exposition  in  New  York,  1853  ;  built  a  fusel-oil  distillery, 
Chicago,  and  organized  the  Blaney-Pool  Co.  Niles  T.  Quales 
(1831-1914),  a  graduate  of  Copenhagen  and  Rush,  a  veteran  of 
the  Civil  War,  a  promotor  of  charitable  institutions  at  Chicago,  a 
professor  at  Tabitha,  Deaconess  Hospital,  city  physician,  etc. 

Ingeborg  Rasmussen  (1858 — ),  M.  D.,  Northwestern,  1892, 
has  practised  medicine  in  Chicago;  has  been  with  the  Rush  Medi- 
cal Dispensary,  Mary  Thompson  Hospital,  Norwegian-American 
Tabitha  Hospital.  Is  a  member  of  Women's  Medical  Society, 
Women's  Press  Association,  Women's  City  Club.,  etc.,  and  since 
1911  one  of  the  editors  of  "Skandinaven."  She  has  received  a 
gold  medal  from  King  Haakon  VII  in  recognition  of  her  services 


The  American  Period 


469 


to  humanity.  Valborg  Sogn  (1858-16)  has  been  professor  of 
gynecology  at  Northwestern  University  and  the  Tabitha  Hospital. 
Haldor  Sneve  is  professor  of  mental  diseases.  C.  P.  Lommen  is 
dean  of  the  College  of  Medicine,  University  of  South  Dakota. 
M.  N.  Voldeng,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,  has  been  professor  at  Drake 
University,  the  superintendent  of  the  State  Insane  Hospital  at 
Cherokee,  la.,  and  is  director  of  the  Colony  of  Epileptics  at  Wood- 
ward, Iowa. 

This  list  is  already  continued  beyond  the  capacity  of  this  little 
volume.  But  just  one  more  word  :  A  Norwegian  center  like  Min- 
neapolis and  Saint  Paul  is  a  real  mecca  for  Norwegian  doctors 
and  sick  folk.  Here  are  names  such  as :  E.  O.  Giere,  Eduard  and 
Egil  Boeckmann,  the  Bessesens,  A.  F.  Bratrud,  Ivar  Sivertsen, 
N.  H.  Scheldrup,  H.  Lysne,  C.  A.  Fjeldstad,  Kr.  Egilsrud,  Hen- 
drick  Nissen,  G.  Bjornstad,  H.  Sneve,  C.  M.  Oberg,  Harold  Ped- 
erson,  R.  J.  Petersen,  Oscar  Owre,  A.  G.  Wethall,  Carl  M.  Roan, 
A.  C.  Tingdale,  and  many  others. 

George  S.  Monson,  dentist,  St.  Paul,  is  the  inventor  of  an  in- 
strument for  reproducing  the  movements  of  the  human  jaw  and 
founder  of  the  Monson  Clinic  Club.     Alfred 
Dentists  Owre  is  dean  of  the  Dental  College  at  the  Uni- 

versity of  Minnesota.  Erling  Thoen  is  a  pro- 
fessor of  dental  anatomy  at  the  University  of  Iowa.  Anna  Sig- 
mond  of  New  York  is  a  professor  of  dental  hygiene  at  Statens 
Tannlaege  Institut,  University  of  Christiania. 

Mankind  has  been  concerned  about  law  and  order  ever  since 
the  first  family.     Every  branch  of  government  is  concerned  about 
law    and    order.     Men    everywhere    recognize 
Lawyers  the   authority   of    certain    laws   as    fundamen- 

tally right,  with  binding  force  in  conse- 
quence. Man  has  the  faculty  of  conscience,  and  society  is  a  moral 
institution  with  moral  ends.  Therefore  Kant,  the  philosopher, 
says : 


Aad   J.   Vinje 
Chief  Justice,  Wis. 


Herman  L.  Ekern 
Attorney  General,  Wis. 


Elias    Rachie,    Ph.D. 
Lawyer,  Minneapolis 


470 


Norwegian  People  in  America. 


Two  things  I  contemplate  with  ceaseless  awe : 
The  stars  of  heaven  and  man's  sense  of  Law. 

Now,  the  Norwegians  have  given  their  best  contribution  to 
American  law  and  order  in  just  this  thing,  that  they  have  kept 
close  to  their  native  conscience  and  also  to  the  clearer  teachings  of 
God's  Word.  They  have,  therefore,  on  the  one  hand  insisted  on 
their  personal  freedom  and,  on  the  other  hand,  their  duty  to  obey 
just  laws.  They  have  shown  the  same  independence  here  as  in 
times  of  yore  when  they  were  the  freest  people  in  Europe.  They 
have  taken  law-making  and  law  enforcement  seriously.  As  legis- 
lators they  have  tried  to  make  just  laws ;  as  citizens  they  have  tried 
to  obey  the  laws,  even  if  they  were  oppressive.  Some  of  the  best 
laws  of  state  and  nation  have  been  written  on  the  statute  books  by 
Norwegian-Americans.     The  Volstead  Law,  for  example. 


Theodore  Wold 


Victor   F.    Lawson 
Great  Bankers 


Harald  Thorson 


There  have  been  many  good  Norwegian-American  lawyers, 
justices  and  judges.  John  W.  Arctander,  LL.D.,  a  man  who  sel- 
dom lost  a  case.  He  was  a  criminal  lawyer.  The  picture  shows 
him  assuming  one  of  his  favorite  poses  before  a  jury.  He  wrote 
several  books — a  practical  handbook  of  Minnesota  law,  a  story  of 
his  conversion,  a  story  of  W.  Duncan  of  Metlakatla,  the  " Apostle 
of  Alaska,"  and  a  novel,  "Guilty."  His  "Apostle  of  Alaska" 
won  him  a  gold  medal  for  the  best  book  at  the  Portland  Exposi- 
tion. Elias  Rachie  is  a  good  lawyer,  located  at  Minneapolis.  He 
is  said  to  have  taken  more  degrees  at  the  University  of  Minnesota 
than  any  other  alumnus  of  the  school,  including  B.L.,  A.M.,  Ph.D. 
and  LL.B.  Herman  L.  Ekern  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin.  He  has  been  a  specialist  in  insurance  and  is  now  the 
attorney  general  of  Wisconsin.  Aad  J.  Vinje  is  a  chief  justice 
of  Wisconsin,  A.  M.  Christianson  is  chief  justice  of  North  Da- 
kota, and  Frank  Anderson  held  a  similar  position  in  South  Dakota. 

There  have  been  several  district  judges,  as  :  Aad  J.  Vinje, 
Gullick  Risjord  and  George  Thompson  in  Wisconsin;  Albert  W. 
Johnson   (1909—    I.  M.  Olson   (1906—),  G.  E.  Qvale   (1897), 


The  American  Period 


471 


Lewis  S.  Nelson  (1911—),  Andrew  Grindeland  (1903—),  Nor- 
man E.  Pederson  and  Gunnar  H.  Nordbye  of  Minnesota ;  Edward 
Engerud,  Harrison  A.  Bronson  and  A.  T.  Cole  of  North  Dakota ; 
and  Frank  Anderson  and  William  Williamson  of  South  Dakota. 

Of  county  and  city  judges  there  have  been  quite  a  number.  As, 
for  example,  among  the  city  judges:  N.  T.  Moen,  Fergus  Falls; 
H.  C.  Ryen,  Moorhead;  Martin  Berger,  Sioux  Falls;  J.  C.  Gilbert- 
son,  Eau  Claire;  Erick  L.  Vinje,  Duluth;  J.  M.  Arntsen,  Tacoma; 
C.  M.  Nielsen,  Salt  Lake  City;  Manley  L.  Fosseen,  Minneapolis; 
and  Oscar  M.  Torrison,  Chicago.  Judge  Torrison  talks  just 
enough  Hebrew  to  hold  the  Jewish 
vote  in  his  precinct.  Andreas  Ueland 
is  a  well  known  ex-probate  judge  and 
attorney  in  Minneapolis.  Judge  L. 
K.  Hasidll  has  held  his  job  since  1901. 

August  D.  Reymert,  the  first  Nor- 
wegian to  enter  state  politics,  be- 
came a  federal  judge  in  Arizona. 
Lucius  J.  M.  Malmin  was  federal 
judge  in  Illinois  and  Gudbrand  J. 
Lomen  is  a  federal  judge  at  Nome, 
Alaska.  As  judges  the  Norwegians 
have  been  eminently  fair,  too  fair  to 
suit  some  people. 

The  Norwegians  are  engaged  in 
every  kind  of  honorable  work  and 
are  making  good  all  along  the  line. 
It  is  refreshing,  thrilling,  inspiring 
to  trace  the  steps  of  these  men  from 
the  depths  of  the  valley  to  the  moun- 
tain peaks  of  success.  Lack  of  space 
forbids  any  further  discussion.  We 
present  pictures  of  three  men  who 
have  done  very  well :  Harald  Thor- 
son,  Victor  F.  Lawson  and  Theo- 
dore Wold,  all  three  bankers.  Harald  Thorson  established 
a  chain  of  banks  throughout  the  Red  River  Valley  and  left  an 
estate  of  over  $1,000,000.00.  He  helped  to  found  St.  Olaf  Col- 
lege and  remembered  it  with  gifts  from  time  to  time — in  all  about 
$1,000,000.00.  Victor  F.  Lawson,  the  publisher  of  the  "Chicago 
Daily  News,"  is  the  founder  of  the  Postal  Savings  Banks  in 
America.  Theodore  Wold  was  trained  by  Harald  Thorson.  He 
became  president  of  the  Scandinavian-American  Bank,  Minne- 
apolis, in  1910,  governor  of  the  Federal  Reserve  Bank,  1914,  and 
first  vice  president  of  the  Northwestern  National  Bank,  Minne- 
apolis, 1921. 


Dr.  John  W.  Arctander 


472 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


16.    Sports  and  Athletics 

The  race,  like  the  child,  demands  play  and  recreation.  All 
work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy.  Play  gives  strength 
and  skill,  and,  in  the  form  of  athletic  contests  and  sports,  through 
victory  and  defeat,  it  has  great  educational  values  and  wholesome, 
refining,    uplifting    effects.     It    calms    the    passions,    strengthens 

the  will,  arrests  insubordina- 
tion, crime,  vice  and  physical 
decline.  It  relieves  distraction 
from  study  and  protracted 
labor  of  other  sorts,  tones  up 
the  body,  makes  the  heart 
glad,  drives  away  sorrow, 
tempers  a  man's  estimate  of 
himself  and  his  fellows, 
creates  sportsmanship  and 
good  will.  It  is  one  of  the 
creators  of  well-balanced 
manhood  and  womanhood, 
and,  as  Horace  Mann  says : 
''One  former  is  worth  100 
reformers."  Or,  as  old  Sa- 
muel Johnson  says :  "I  am  a 
great  friend  to  public  amuse- 
ments, for  they  keep  people 
from  vice."  Play  keeps  the 
race  young,  keeps  the  indi- 
vidual young.  Men  grow  old 
because  they  stop  playing. 

The  Norwegians  are  toil- 
ers, but  not  slaves  to  toil. 
From  time  immemorial  they 
have  taken  time  off  to  play 
and  to  care  for  their  bodies. 
They  are  a  clean  and  vigor- 
ous race.  The  name  of  their 
Saturday  in  Modern  Norwe- 
gian is  "lordag,"  in  Old 
Norse  "laugardagr,"  and  it 
means  bathday.  On  that  day, 
their  custom  was  to  take  hot 
baths,  a  good  old  custom  that 
still    flourishes.    And,    more- 

Nels  Nelson  over>  they  took  their  weekly> 

World  Champion  on  Skis  or    even     daily,    dip    in    the 


The  American  Period 


473 


IMHMMM 


M 


THE  MINNEAPOLIS  SKY-LINE,  1875 

cold  waters  of  the  sea,  winter  as  well  as  summer,  a  custom  which 
even  now  has  not  entirely  died  out.  They  rejoice  in  feats  of 
daring,  strength  and  skill,  such  as,  sailing  and  skiing. 

In  this  country,  it  is  especially  in  the  ski  sport  that  they  have 
distinguished  themselves,  and  that  to  such  a  degree  that  they  are 

in    a    class    by    themselves.      Nearly    all    the 
Skiing  amateur  and  professional  ski  champions  have 

been  Norwegians.  Skiing  is  the  king  of  win- 
ter sports.  It  takes  one  out  into  the  open.  Combined  in  skiing 
are  the  pleasures  of  both  hiking  and  snowshoeing,  and  in  addition 
there  is  the  thrill  of 
coasting.  Surely  sport 
with  such  exhilara- 
tion, putting  roses  on 
cheeks  of  young  and 
old  and  giving  vigor 
to  all,  can  be  called 
healthful.  A  number 
of  ski  clubs  have  been 
organized.  The  first 
one  is  believed  to  be 
Dovre,  organized  at 
Eau  Claire,  Wiscon- 
sin, in  1886.  The  next 
year  clubs  were  estab- 


Hakon  C.  Norlie  and  His  Home-made  Cart 


lished  at  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  Stillwater,  La  Crosse  and  Stough- 
ton.  Since  then  they  have  been  planted  all  over  America  from 
Maine  to  Washington  and  from  Denver  to  Edmonton.  In  1904, 
at  the  instigation  of  the  Ishpeming  Club,  a  National  Ski  Associa- 
tion was  formed.  Carl  Telle f sen,  Ishpeming,  was  the  first 
president;  Aksel  H.  Holter,  Ashland,  Wisconsin,  was  the 
first  secretary.  The  officers  in  1925  are :  Oscar  T.  Oyaas, 
Superior,  Wisconsin,  president ;  K.  Rieber,  Canton,  South  Dakota, 
vice  president;  Gustave  E.  Lindboe,  Chicago,  secretary;  Olaf 
Thompson,  Lanesboro,  Minnesota,  treasurer.  The  National  Ski 
Association  now  includes  30  local  clubs  and  has  20,000  members. 
There  are  more  clubs  outside  the  national  organization  than 
within  it. 

Since  1916  there  have  been  national  tournaments  every  year 
except  1919,  and,  of  course,  many  local  contests.  The  national 
ski  champions  have  been  as  follows  on  the  next  page: 


THE  MINNEAPOLIS  SKY-LINE,  igoo 


474 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


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The  American  Period 


475 


All  in  the  last  table  were  professionals  except  Hans  Hansen. 
All  in  all  three  tables  used  Northland  skis  made  by  the  Northland 
Ski  Manufacturing  Co.,  St.  Paul,  except  Nels  Nelson.  C.  A. 
Lund,  president  of  this  company,  is  a  native  of  Norway  and  has 
been  actively  interested  in  skiing  since  boyhood.  He  personally 
knows  most  skiers  of  prominence  and  has  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  them  ski  and  win  on  Northlands. 

Athletics  has  held  an  honored  place  at  all  the  Norwegian  col- 
leges and  nearly  all  the  academies.     In  the  early  days  the  boys 
found    exercise    and    enjoyment    in    running, 
College  Sports  jumping,    wrestling,    weight    lifting    and    hik- 

ing.    Baseball    dates    back    to    the    beginning 
of  school  life,  and  during  the  last  20-30  years  football,  basketball, 


S.  S.  Reque 


Knute  Rockne 
Champion  Coaches 


E.    B.   Anderson 


tennis,  soccer,  golf,  turning,  track,  military  drill  and  gymnastic 
instruction  have  also  made  claim  on  the  time  and  energy  of  the 
students.  Modern  gymnasiums  are  being  provided  at  all  the  col- 
leges and  several  of  the  academies.  Athletic  associations  have 
been  started  at  all  the  stronger  institutions.  Letter  societies  for 
those  who  have  won  unusual  distinction  in  athletics  and  forensics, 
illustrate  the  efforts  of  the  students  to  maintain  high  standards 
and  enthusiasm.  Competent  coaches  and  athletic  directors  are 
being  provided,  and  a  high  grade  of  instruction  and  sportsman- 
ship is  being  inculcated. 

Luther  College,  for  example,  is  a  classical  school  of  the  first 
rank,  which  has  stressed  honest,  thorough  scholarship.  Says  C.  F. 
Sanders,  in  the  "Educational  Review"  (March,  1923)  :  "Luther 
College  has  a  record  of  which  she  may  without  offense  have  a 
high  sense  of  becoming  pride.  She  has  done  a  great  work."  And 
James  F.  Conover,  writing  in  the  "Iowa  Magazine"  for  February, 
1923,  says :  "Luther  College,  with  its  cluster  of  imposing  build- 
ings and  wonderfully  beautiful  campus  situated  on  a  high  emin- 
ence overlooking  the  Upper  Iowa  River,  today  is  an  educational 


476  Nonvegian  People  in  America 

institution  of  national  reputation."  Nevertheless,  Luther  College 
is  just  as  jealous  of  its  athletic  honor  and  fame  as  it  is  of  its 
scholastic  standing.  It  is  a  school  for  men,  with  "mens  sana  in 
corpore  sano"  (a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body),  as  one  of  its 
golden  rules.  Win.  P.  Sihler  and  Oscar  L.  Olson  were  the  first 
promoters  of  the  remarkable  success  in  baseball  at  Luther  College. 
Arthur  Laudell  was  elected  coach  in  1917;  Styrk  Sigurd  Reque, 
in  1919.  Luther  played  its  first  intercollegiate  baseball  game  with 
St.  Olaf  College,  May  17,  1891,  and  won.  St.  Olaf  played  on  the 
Luther  grounds  May  17,  1925,  and  won,  2  to  0.  In  the  nine  in- 
nings not  a  St.  Olaf  man  hit  the  ball,  Luther  made  only  two  hits. 
St.  Olaf  has  always  been  Luther's  most  interesting  and  feared  rival 
in  baseball  and  other  contests,  a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel.  In 
baseball  Luther  has  so  far  been  on  top.  In  the  30  years,  1891-1921, 
there  have  been  36  Luther-St.  Olaf  games.  Luther  tied  once, 
lost  ten  times  and  won  25.  From  1891  to  1921  Luther  has  played 
41  colleges  and  universities,  tied  five  times,  lost  87  times  and  won 
128  times — 40.5  per  cent  lost,  59.5  per  cent  won.  Football 
coaches  at  Luther  have  been :  Walter  Jewell,  1919,  a  former  Iowa 
University  tackle;  Oscar  M.  Solem,  1920,  a  former  Minnesota 
University  end  tackle;  Ivan  Doseff,  1921-1922,  a  former  Chi- 
cago University  all-Western  honor  man ;  Franklin  C.  Cappon, 
1923-1924,  a  former  Michigan  University,  all-American  honor 
man;  also  last,  but  not  least,  Orlando  W.  Oualley,  1920 — , 
and  S.  S.  Reque,  athletic  director,  1925 — .  Instructors  in 
military  drill  have  been:  Peter  S.  Reque,  1865;  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral Christian  Brandt,  1876;  O.  B.  Overn,  1917.  An  S.  A.  T.  C 
unit  was  maintained  by  the  War  Department  of  the  U.  S.,  1918. 
with  Lieuts.  H.  H.  Fisher  and  Allen  C.  Grundy  in  charge;  an 
R.  O.  T.  C.  was  established  in  1919  and  discontinued  in  1920. 
Instructors  in  turning  at  Luther  have  been :  Carlo  Alberto 
Sperati,  1886;  Dr.  Ole  Boe,  1907;  Francis  E.  Peterson,  1921; 
William  Johnson,  1924.  In  1909,  the  first  year  Luther  took  part 
in  the  Iowa  State  Gymnastic  Meet,  the  team  was  awarded  the 
championship.  Luther  made  256.4  points  to  47.2  for  Iowa  Uni- 
versity. Win.  P.  Sihler  and  Gisle  Bothne  laid  out  the  first  tennis 
court  at  Luther  and  played  the  first  game.  Many  championship 
teams  have  since  been  developed  at  Luther.  David  Nelson, 
Rhodes  scholar  and  captain  in  the  World  War,  coaches  tennis  in 
addition  to  his  duties  as  instructor  at  the  college.  The  interest 
in  athletics  acquired  at  Luther  as  a  rule  stays  by  a  man  the  rest 
of  his  days.  Gynther  Storaasli,  L.C.,  '11,  was  a  chaplain.  On  a 
Sunday  morning  he  preached  a  good,  earnest  sermon  to  the  soldier 
boys,  then  had  his  dinner,  entered  his  flying  ship  and  landed  near 
a  place  where  the  boys  were  playing  ball.  They  insisted  on  that 
he  should  try  his  hand  at  pitching.  He  pitched  and  won  the  game. 
He  had  learned  the  trick  at  Luther. 


The  American  Period  477 

At  St.  Olaf  College  the  athletic  spirit  is  as  good  as  at  Luther 
and  the  laurels  won  are  as  brilliant.  Guided  by  Endre  B.  Ander- 
son as  coach  and  Dr.  Edward  R.  Cooke  as  physical  director,  St. 
Olaf  bovs  keep  in  good  trim  and  keep  Luther  and  other  doughty 
rivals  at  bay.  Augustana  College  and  Concordia  College  are 
likewise  up  and  doing,  with  a  heart  for  any  fate.  The  co-edu- 
cational schools  provide  also  adequate  physical  training  and  ath- 
letic sports  for  the  girls. 

In  connection  with  football  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  Knute 
Rockne,  coach  at  the  great  Catholic  university,  Xotre  Dame,  since 
1914,  is  a  Norwegian  and  a  Lutheran.  He  was  an  all- American 
end  in  football  in  1913.  Inter-collegiate  football  is  the  most  sen- 
sational of  American  sports.  Gatherings  between  50,000  and 
100,000  spectators  are  not  uncommon.  Rockne  has  been  able  to 
develop  every  year  some  of  the  top-notch  teams  in  America  that 
draw  immense  crowds.  He  reached  the  pinnacle  of  his  fame  in 
1924  when,  after  defeating  Lombard,  Wabash,  West  Point 
(Army),  Princeton,  Georgia  Tech.,  Wisconsin,  Northwestern  and 
Carnegie  Tech.,  and  having  his  team  conceded  the  strongest  in  the 
East,  he  went  out  West  and  defeated  Leland  Stanford,  the  strong- 
est team  out  there.  Rockne  is  a  double  cousin  of  S.  S.  Reque, 
baseball  coach  at  Luther  College.  There  are  only  five  Norwegian 
colleges  in  America,  but  nearly  500  other  colleges,  state  and  pri- 
vate. A  large  number  of  Norwegians  attend  these  state  and  private 
schools  and  distinguish  themselves  there  as  athletes.  At  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  for  example,  there  have  been  many  foot- 
ball stars  of  Norse  blood,  such  as  Oscar  M.  Solem,  Trygve  John- 
sen,  Erling  Platou.  Arne  Oas,  Arnold  C.  Oss,  Egil  Boeckmann, 
and  many  others.  Magne  Skursdalsvold,  a  senior  in  the  Agri- 
cultural College  of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  has  twice  been 
awarded  gold  medals  by  the  Western  Intercollegiate  Gymnastics, 
Wrestling  and  Fencing  Association :  Parallel  bars,  1924,  first 
prize;  tumbling,  1925,  tied  for  first  place.  He  is  a  son  of  J.  J. 
Skursdalsvold.  In  the  Metropolitan  Association  meet  held  in  New 
York  in  1919  the  Norwegian  Turning  Association  of  Brooklyn 
("Turn  og  Idraetsforening")  won  with  45  points  against  13  for  the 
National  Turnverein  and  11  for  the  New  York  Turnverein.  The 
first,  second  and  third  prizes  on  horizontal  bars,  horse  and  parallel 
bars,  went  to  three  Norwegians — Peter  Hoe,  Bjarne  Jdrgensen 
and  Thorvald  Hansen.  Klaus  Olsen  has  since  1887  conducted  at 
San  Francisco  the  Olsen  Gymnastic  and  Medico-Mechanical  Insti- 
tute, and,  thanks  to  practising  what  he  preaches,  he  is  70  years 
young. 

Norwegians  have  been  making  good  records  in  a  number  of 
other  sports.  In  sailing,  swimming,  diving,  jumping,  walking. 
Miscellaneous  skating,    boxing,    wrestling,    tennis,    shooting, 

Records  dog-running  and  other  events. 


478 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


Sir  Thomas  Lipton,  owner  of  the  famous  Lipton  Teas,  is 
also  the  owner  of  the  racing  yacht  Shamrock.  Every  year  since 
1899  he  has  entered  the  international  cup  races  hoping  to  win  the 
America's  Cup.  The  American  yachts  which  have  defended  this 
cup  have  as  a  rule  been  manned  by  Scandinavian  tars.  Thus,  in 
the  race  between  the  American  yacht  Resolute  and  the  English 
yacht  Shamrock,  July  20,  1920,  the  whole  crew  of  the  Resolute 
was  made  up  of  Scandinavians — 22  Norwegians,  7  Swedes  and  1 
Dane.  The  master  of  the  defender  was  Captain  Chris  Christen- 
sen,  of  Brooklyn,  a  Norwegian.  His  boat  won.  "No  man,"  says 
Carl  G.  O.   Hansen  in  "Norwegian  Immigrant  Contributions  to 


Henry    Ordemann 


Sybil  Bauer 


Gustav  Stearns 


America's  Making,"  "no  man  knows  the  vagaries  and  whims  of 
the  wind  and  weather  along  the  Atlantic  Coast  better  than  he." 
Hansen  adds :  "Many  of  the  racing  captains  of  the  Atlantic 
ports  are  Americans  of  Norwegian  birth.  The  racing  master  of 
the  New  York  Yacht  Club  since  1874  is  Louis  W.  Blix  from 
Sandefjord,  Norway." 

Miss  Sybil  Bauer,  Chicago,  a  junior  at  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity and  member  of  the  First  Lutheran  Church,  Chicago,  is  the 
daughter  of  Carl  Bauer,  manufacturer  of  parlor  furniture  frames, 
a  Norwegian.  Miss  Bauer,  born  in  1903,  at  the  age  of  18  be- 
came both  indoor  and  outdoor  national  champion  swimmer,  m 
1924  she  won  the  Olympic  backstroke  championship  at  Paris. 
She  is  the  holder  of  all  women's  world's  records  at  backstroke, 
from  50  yards  to  440  yards.  She  also  broke  the  men's  record 
for  440  yards — the  first  time  in  the  history  of  athletics.  In  the 
100  meter  backstroke  she  has  set  a  world's  record  at  1  minute, 
23  1-5  seconds. 

L.  Jensen,  Brooklyn,  won  the  championship  in  diving  at  the 
Madison  Square  Garden,  New  York,  in  1921.  O.  M.  Norlie  dur- 
ing the  '90s  made  standing  broad  jumps  11  feet  6  inches  probably 


The  American  Period 


479 


1,000  times.  This  is  over  one-inch  better  than  the  highest  na- 
tional and  international  championship  records.  Joseph  Bredsteen, 
while  a  student  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin  in  1901,  won  all 
walking  matches.  Orrin  Markhus,  St.  Paul,  is  the  best  fancy 
skater  in  America.  Axel  Paulsen,  the  international  champion 
skater,  made  the  United  States  his  home  in  1888-1890  and  took 
part  in  many  races.  Oscar  Mathiesen,  Oslo,  who  first  won  in- 
ternational fame  at  Davos,  Switzerland,  in  1906-1907,  lived  in 
the  United  States  a  couple  of  years  and  met  several  of  the  best 
skaters  in  this  country.  He  defeated  Bobby  McClean  of  Chicago 
and  was  declared  the  champion  skater  of  the  world.  Arthur  Staff, 
national  champion  skater,  is  a  Chicago  boy,  born  of  Norwegian 
parents.  His  prowess  and 
skill  were  developed  by  the 
old  Sleipner  Athletic  Club, 
which  now  is  called  the  Nor- 
wegian-American Athletic 
Association  of  Chicago. 

In  wrestling,  Henry  Orde- 
mann  was  the  all-American 
Champion  two  years,  1910- 
1912.  He  learned  the  black- 
smith's trade.  Came  to 
America  in  1903  and  worked 
as  a  blacksmith  four  years 
at  the  Mandt  Wagon  Works, 
Stoughton,  Wisconsin.  He 
is  now  a  real  estate  man  at 
Minneapolis.  He  began  to 
wrestle  and  has  defeated 
over  100  able  men  on  the 
mat.  He  has  also  wrestled 
the  greatest  wrestling  cham- 
pions of  the  day,  as :  Yussiss 

Maumouth,  the  Turk,  in  1909 ;  Stanley  Zbyszko,  the  Pole,  in  1910; 
George  Hackensmith,  the  Russian,  in  1911.  These  three  men  defeat- 
ed him,  but  not  without  a  struggle.  He  held  the  Turk  one  hour  and 
13  minutes  and  is  the  only  man  who  ever  got  behind  his  back. 
He  threw  the  Pole  once  out  of  three  times.  He  withstood  the 
Terrible  Russian  two  hours  and  37  minutes.  He  has  defeated 
such  notables  as:  Dr.  Benjamin  Roller,  Charles  Cutler,  Fred 
Bell,  Gus  Westergaard,  Joe  Stechler.  He  was  a  personal  friend 
and  disciple  of  Frank  Gotch,  the  world  champion,  who  refereed 
at  the  Chicago  contest  in  which  Ordemann  came  out  victor  over 
30  contestants  and  was  declared  by  Gotch  to  be  the  rightful  holder 
of   the   American   championship.      His   hold   is   half-Nelson   and 


Molla  Bjurstedt  Mallory  in  Action 


480 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


crotch,  or  toe  hold.  Aurid  Mevik  is  the  amateur  champion  boxer 
in  New  York,  and  Harry  Martinsen  and  Eddie  Christensen  are 
veterans  and  victors  in  many  fistic  encounters.  Ingrid  Solfeng  is 
acclaimed  on  Broadway,  New  York,  as  one  of  the  most  marvel- 
ous fancy  dancers  in  the  history  of  the  stage.  She  spends  some 
of  her  time  as  a  movie  star  at  Holywood,  California. 


A  very  unusual  photograph  on  file  in  the  archives  of  the  Government  in  Washington. 
It  was  taken  by  an  official  U.  S.  Signal  Corps  photographer  who  was  sent  up  to  the  front  with 
instructions  to  take  some  photographs  of  activities  in  the  front  line  trenches.  He  was  not 
allowed  to  develop  these  pictures  during  the  war  but  had  to  send  the  films  sealed  to  Paris. 
The  picture  shows  Captain-Chaplain  Gustav  Stearns,  127th  Inf.  32nd  Div.  A.E.F.  conducting  a 
church  service  between  the  trenches  in  the  Haute-Alsace  trench  sector  in  the  spring  of  1918. 
All  were  ordered  to  wear  steel  helmets  and  gas  masks  constantly  while  in  this  area.  The  gas 
mask  is  seen  at  the  chaplain's  side.  This  is  not  a  posed  picture  but  was  taken  without  the 
chaplain's  knowledge  while  he  was  preaching.  A  few  days  later  he  was  wounded  by  enemy 
shrapnel. 


Mrs.  Molla  Bjurstedt  Mallory,  "Marvelous  Molla,"  has  the 
best  record  for  tennis  playing  of  any  woman  in  America.  She 
was  born  in  Oslo  and  baptized  Anna  Margrethe.  She  was  train- 
ed as  a  teacher  of  gymnastics  and  a  masseuse.  She  came  to 
Canada  in  1914  and  worked  as  a  governess.  She  assisted  in  the 
Red  Cross  by  knitting  sweaters  and  doing  embroidery,  at  both 
of  which  she  was  an  adept.  In  1915  she  competed  for  the  in- 
door tennis  championship  at  New  York,  and  won.  That  same 
year  she  won  the  women's  national  outdoor  championship.  This 
honor  she  has  captured  seven  times,  four  times  oftener  than  any 
other  woman.     She  published  in  the  "New  York  Sun"  a  series 


The  American  Period  481 

of  articles  on  Tennis  which  have  been  re-issued  in  book  form. 
In  1919  she  married  Franklin  L.  Mallory,  of  Philadelphia,  a 
widower. 

During  the  World  War  man}-  Norwegians  distinguished  them- 
selves as  good  marksmen.  Sergeant  Olav  Gunheim,  of  Canby, 
Minnesota,  won  fourth  place  as  sharpshooter,  in  a  contest  against 
1,300  riflemen  in  the  American  Expeditionary  Forces.  He  was 
awarded  a  gold  medal  from  the  hands  of  General  Pershing. 
Trvgve  Mordt,  New  York,  with  Uncle  Sam's  navy  four  years, 
won  the  distinction  of  being  the  bestHtt-around  athlete  among  the 
blue-jackets. 

In  this  same  connection  may  be  mentioned  some  of  the  brave 
soldiers  who  received  some  recognition  for  gallantry  in  action. 
The  Congressional  Medal  of  Honor,  the  highest  distinction 
awarded  to  an  American  soldier,  was  given  to  four  Norwegian- 
Americans,  namely.  Corporal  Birger  Loman,  Sergeant  Reidar 
Waaler,  Privates  Nels  Tidemand  Wold  and  Johannes  S.  Ander- 
sen. Waaler  holds  three  American  medals,  three  French  medals, 
also  English  and  Belgian  decorations.  Loman  is  said  to  be  the 
most  decorated  soldier  in  the  American  army.  He  has  medals 
from  America,  England.  Belgium,  France,  Italy  and  Montenegro. 
On  one  occasion  he  captured  without  assistance  140  German  sol- 
diers, including  Major  Henneman,  the  first  German  officer  cap- 
tured during  the  War.  All  alone,  on  another  occasion,  he  captured 
a  machine  gun  and  a  cannon.  At  another  time  he  crawled  up  to 
No  Man's  Land  and  over  it  clear  into  the  German  trenches  and 
returned  with  a  prisoner  of  war.  Not  satisfied  with  this  exploit 
he  crossed  over  again  and  came  back  with  25  captives.  He  is  a 
painter  by  professsion  and  lives  at  1451  N.  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago. 
He  was  born  in  Bergen. 

One  of  the  bravest  men  in  the  American  armv  was  Gustav 
Stearns,  chaplain  with  the  rank  of  captain  in  the  127th  Infantry, 
32nd  Division  of  the  A.  E.  F.  He  was  on  duty  and  in  engage- 
ments in  the  Haute-Alsace  trench  sector,  the  Aisne-Marne  of- 
fensive (the  second  Battle  of  the  Marne)  and  the  Oisne-Aisne 
offensive  (the  Battle  of  Juvigny).  He  was  wounded  by  enemy 
shrapnel  at  Badricourt.  France.  July  12.  1918.  but  continued  on 
duty  after  being  bandaged.  He  was  cited  by  General  Pershing 
for  ''gallantry  in  action  near  Juvigny,  Sept.  1,  1918,  in  burying 
the  dead  under  heavy  shell  fire."  He  was  authorized  to  wear  the 
"Silver  Citation  Star"  and  the  "Silver  Wound  Button."  On  Jan. 
1,  1925,  he  was  promoted  to  chaplain  with  rank  of  major,  with 
federal  recognition  in  the  National  Guard  and  Officers'  Reserve 
Corps,  and  is  the  only  chaplain  in  Wisconsin  to  receive  this  rank. 
Stearns  was  born  at  New  Richland,  Minnesota,  of  parents  who 
came  from  Norway.     Halvor  K.  Stearns,  the  father,  came  from 


482  Norwegian  People  in  America 

Numedal;  Bergitte  Sevats,  the  mother,  came  from  Hallingdal. 
These  two  married  and  had  13  children,  of  whom  Gustav  is  the 
only  boy  living.  In  these  pioneer  days  Halvor  Stearns  could  not 
send  his  boy  to  college,  but  one  of  the  girls,  Sophia,  now  Mrs. 
Benson,  of  Washington,  went  into  business  and  put  Gustav 
Stearns  and  sister,  Kaia,  through  St.  Olaf  College.  Stearns 
worked  his  way  through  the  United  Church  Seminary  and  be- 
came, in  1899,  a  pastor  in  Milwaukee,  and  is  today  no  doubt  the 
best  known  and  most  beloved  pastor  in  that  city.  He  is  the 
author  of  a  book  of  letters  written  to  his  congregations  when  he 
was  in  the  army,  entitled  "From  Army  Camps  and  Battlefields" 
(1919).  Three  editions  have  been  sold  out.  Stearns  is  perhaps 
the  most  enthusiastic  and  original  baseball  rooter  that  ever  at- 
tended St.  Olaf. 


(L^  sif  '**«*  *■  fiiWH^  ii 


The  Dog  Team  in  Alaska 

In  the  famous  dog  races  of  Canada,  Norwegian  drivers  have 
often  come  out  victorious.  Also  in  far  distant  Alaska,  that  great 
and  almost  unknown  country  far  beyond  the  Arctic  Circle,  the 
dog  races  awaken  a  keen  enthusiasm  common  to  true  sportsmen 
of  all  times  and  places.  The  dog  race  is  the  national  sport  of 
Alaska.  At  Nome,  Alaska,  in  1908,  the  Nome  Kennel  Club  was 
organized  with  Albert  Fink,  a  Norwegian,  as  president. 
This  club  has  developed  a  most  splendid  type  of  racing  dog, 
which  has  won  the  praises  of  the  two  great  Arctic  explorers, 
Roald  Amundsen  and  Vilhjalmur  Stefansson,  both  of  whom  have 
bowed  knee  with  the  dog-worshippers  at  Nome.  At  Nome  the 
All  Alaska  Sweepstakes  Dog  Races  were  established  as  the  great 
annual  athletic  event,  and  Leonard  Seppala,  a  Norwegian,  has 
been  the  winner.  He  was  born  at  Lyngenf  jord  in  1877  and  settled 
in  Alaska  in  1900.  Every  second  white  man  in  Alaska  is  a 
Scandinavian;  every  fourth  Caucasian  is  a  Norwegian.  Seppala 
came  to  find  gold  and  spent  his   first  winter  alone  at   Seward 


The  American  Period  483 

Peninsula.  It  was  a  terrible  experience.  The  cold  was  intense, 
72  degrees  below,  and  he  froze  his  feet.  He  was  on  the  point  of 
starving  to  death  and  set  out  to  find  some  human  habitation.  He 
found  a  hut  snowed  in,  but  the  lonely  occupant  was  dead.  The 
hungry  hounds  ate  the  dead  man  up.  By  the  help  of  his  dogs 
Seppala  got  back  to  civilization.  He  hired  out  to  Jafet  Linde- 
berg,  president  of  the  Pioneer  Mining  Co.,  the  Norwegian  com- 
pany which  first  discovered  gold  at  Nome.  In  1914  he  entered 
his  first  race.  In  1915  he  won  the  408-mile  race  in  78  hours.  In 
1919  he  made  the  world  record  in  the  Borden  Marathon,  making 
26  miles  in  1  hour  and  50  seconds.  In  1915  his  wife  wras  crowned 
the  Carnival  Queen  of  Nome.  In  1917  the  "Nome  Daily  Nugget" 
contained  a  poem  entitled,  "Seppala  Drives  to  Win,"  written  by 
the  Northland  poetess  Esther  Darling.  The  occasion  was,  not 
a  race  for  laurels,  but  to  save  the  life  of  Bobby  Brown,  wrhich  was 
fast  ebbing  away. 

There's  a  race  on  the  trail  into  Candle, 
With  a  Nome  Sweepstakes  team  in  the  game 
Hear  the  rhythm  and  beat  of  the  pattering  feet 
Of  the  dogs  that  have  earned  them   a  name ! 
But  this  contest  is  not  for  a  record; 
Neither  cup  nor  a  purse  is  the  goal, 
For  Seppala  is  bent  and  his  mind  is  intent 
On  racing  with  death  for  a  soul. 

Seppala  won.     Enough  said. 

The  daily  press  and  the  magazines  in  February,  1925,  contained 
screaming  headlines  and  long  columns  of  news  about  the  men  who 
brought  the  serum  to  Nome  and  saved  the  town  from  being  wiped 
out  by  epidemic.  Who  were  these  men?  Norwegians — Gunnar 
Kasson  (Kaasen)  og  Leonard  Seppala. 

17.    Public  Service 

The  Norwegians  are  good  voters.  They  go  to  the  polls.  They 
vote  for  principles  and  good  men.  They  are  independent  in  their 
thinking  and  their  balloting.  They  can  be  fooled  but  not  bought. 
They  are  modest  and  patient  and  do  not  clamor  for  office.  They 
do  not  hold  their  fair  share  of  public  offices,  not  in  any  state  or 
community.  North  Dakota,  for  example,  is  a  strong  Norwegian 
state,  but  it  never  had  a  Norwegian  governor  before  1921.  A 
small  handful  of  Scotchmen  ran  the  state  for  years  and  years,  and 
to  a  large  extent  do  so  yet.  In  "the  little  town  of  Stoughton, 
Wisconsin,  80  per  cent  of  the  population  was  of  Norwegian  ex- 
traction, but  the  whole  school  board  was  run  by  a  dozen  or  so  of 
English  families.  Some  one  said  something  which  hurt  the  pride 
of  the  Norwegians,  and  at  the  next  election  the  whole  school 
board  was  made  up  of  Norwegians.  In  Minnesota,  the  Nor- 
wegians showed  what  they  can  do  if  they  want  to,  when  they 


484  Norwegian  People  in  America 

elected  Henrik  Shipstead  United  Spates  Senator  in  place  of  Frank 
B.  Kellogg.  Kellogg  was  strong.  He  is  strong  still.  He  has 
just  come  back  from  the  Court  of  St.  James  where  he  was  the 
I  J.  S.  Ambassador,  and  now  he  is  the  President's  secretary  of 
state.  But  he  was  defeated  by  Dr.  Shipstead,  because  the  Nor- 
wegians were  dissatisfied  with  the.  War  and  its  results.  Ship- 
stead's  campaign  manager  was  only  a  slip  of  a  girl,  Miss 
Karen  Andersen  by  name.  Shipstead  represented  the  despised 
Farmer-Labor  Party  and  had  the  powerful  dailies  and  the  monied 
interests  squarely  against  him,  yet  he  won  by  a  handsome  margin, 
83,539  more  votes  than  Kellogg,  the  Republican  candidate,  201.748 
more  than  Anna  D.  Olesen,  the.  Democratic  candidate. 

In  Strand's  "History  of  the  Norwegians  of  Illinois''  an  ac- 
count is   given   of   the   principal   offices  held  by   Norwegians   in 

Miller,  Mission  and  Adams  townships  of 
La  Salle  County         La    Salle    County,    Illinois,    the    second    home 

of  the  Sloopers.  Mission  Township  was  organ- 
ized in  1850.  The  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  Mission  was 
Lars  Larson,  and  its  first  constable  was  Nels  Nelson.  Strand's 
list  includes  125  names  from  Mission  Township ;  50  from  Miller 
and  140  for  Adams.  Ovee  (Aave)  Rosdail  (Rosedal)  was  col- 
lector in  1852.  Peter  C.  Nelson  was  constable  in  1852 ;  collector, 
1856;  commissioner  of  highways,  1859-1860;  collector,  1863; 
commissioner  of  highwavs.  1864-1872;  assessor  and  collector. 
1874;  assessor,  1877-1879-1880;  collector.  1881-1885;  assessor, 
1886-1888.  B.  Thompson,  Nels  Nelson  and  J.  A.  Quam  had  one 
office  or  another  throughout  the  '60s,  '70s,  '80s,  '90s  and  beyond. 
In  Miller  Township,  organized  in  1876  by  the  influence  of  Nels 
Nelson.  Jr..  had  Norwegians  in  office  every  year  from,  its  orga- 
nization. Among  the  office  holders  are  Nels  Nelson,  Lars 
Heyer,  Lars  Fruland  and  Austin  Heyer.  The  man  who  held  the 
greatest  variety  of  offices  and  longest,  in  Adams  Township,  was 
A.  A.  Klove.  Klove  was  a  Sundav  school  superintendent  for  50 
years.  He  helped  to  organize  the  Scandinavian  Augustana  Synod 
in  1860 ;  The  Norwegian  Augustana  Synod  in  1870 ;  and  the 
Lnited  Church  in  1890.  He  was  a  synodical  treasurer  from  1860 
to  1890;  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees,  1890-1899.  He  was 
the  secretary  of  the  Adams  branch  of  the  American  Bible  Society 
30  years.  He  served  as  assessor,  justice  of  the  peace,  supervisor, 
notary  public,  etc..  from  1860  to  1899,  the  year  of  his  death.  He 
lived  on  a  farm  near  Leland. 

Alfred  Sp'derstro'm's    "Minneapolis  Minnen :     Kulturhistorisk 
Axplockning"    (1899),  gives  a  brief  summary  of   Scandinavians 
holding   office   in    Minneapolis.     The    list    in- 
Minneapolis  eludes  the  following  Norwegians: 


The  American  Period 


485 


NORWEGIANS  IN  OFFICE  IN  MINNEAPOLIS,  1871-1899 
Term  Name  Office  Party 

1870  Rice,  A.  E Senate  Republican 

1871-1877  Johnson,  Geo.  H Sheriff  Republican 

1874-1870  Edsten,  A.  H City  Council  Republican 

1876-1886  Oftedal,  Sven  Board  of  Education  Republican 

1877  Johnson,  Geo.  H House  of  Rep.  Republican 

1878-1888  Haugan,  A.  C City  Council  Republican 

1878-1879  Karl  Bendeke City  Council  Democrat 

1879-1881  Tharaldsen,   Andrew    House  of  Rep.  Republican 

1881-1883  Ueland,   Andrew    Court  Commissioner  Republican 

1883-1887  Ueland,  Andrew    Judge  of   Probate  Republican 

1885-1895  Oftedal,     Sven     Bd.  Public  Library  Republican 

1885-1886  Swenson,    Lars    City  Council  Republican 

188s  Byorum,   Ole    House  of  Rep.  Republican 

1886-1888  Wraamann,   W.   YY County  Supt.  Schools  Democrat 

1887-1891  Dahl,   Peter   M County    Surveyor  Republican 

1887-....  Swenson,    Lars    Court  House  Com.  Republican 

Senate  Republican 

1887-1889  Ellingson,  Severt House  of  Repr.  Republican 

1888-1894  Haugan,   A.   C Park  Board  Republican 

1889- 1899  Olson,  S.  E.   . , Governor's  Staff  Republican 

1889  Husher,  F.  A House  of  Rep.  Republican 

1889-1891  Enstad,  C.  P City  Council  Republican 

1889-1891  Ellingsen,  Chris  City  Council  Republican 

1889-1893  Blichfeldt,  John  A City  Council  Republican 

1889-1891  Flaten,  O.  P City  Council  Republican 

1889-1901  Gjertsen,   M.   Falk    County  Supt.  Schools  Republican 

1889- Askeland,    Halvor     Asst.  Public  Librarian  Republican 

1889-....  Heiberg,  Kristian   Asst.  Public  Librarian  Republican 

1889-1899  Reese,  Chas.   M State  Weighmaster  Republican 

Too~  tq~t  r-     *  at    \j  Board   of    Police 

1889-1891  Gjertsen,    N.    H n  ■     ■  D        ,r 

v      v  J  '  Commissioner  Republican 

1890-1894  Jaeger,  Luth Board  of  Education  Democrat 

1890-1894  Husher,  F.  A US    Consul, 

v        v^  '  Port  Stanley  Republican 

1891-1893  Kortgaard,  Kristian   City  Treasurer  Democrat 

1891-1893  Peterson,  H.  O County  Treasurer  Democrat 

1891-1899  Schwartz,  Fred  A City  Council  Democrat 

1891-1903  Rand,  Lars   M City  Council  Democrat 

1893-1897  Hauigan,  A.    C City  Treasurer  Democrat 

1893-1899  Cappelen,  F.  W City   Engineer  Democrat 

1895-1897  Dahl,  Peter  M County  Surveyor  Republican 

1895-1897  Ellingsen,  Chris House  of  Rep.  Republican 

1895-1897  Dahl,  J.  F House  of  Rep.  Republican 

1895-1897  Gjertsen,   M.   Falk    Bd.  Public  Library  Republican 

1897-1899  Simonson,  Hans    House  of  Rep.  Republican 

1897-1899  Peterson,  James County  Attorney  Republican 

1899-1901  Megaarden,    Phil Sheriff  Republican 

1899  Owrie,   Lars    Asst.  Supt.  Poorhouse       Democrat 

The  combined  service  of  these  46  positions  amounted  to  211 

years  for  the  30-year  period,  or  seven  offices  each  year.     Since 

1899  the  Norwegians  have  naturally  done  even  better  than  the 

record  shown  above,  gotten  more  and  higher  offices,  but  by  no 
means  their  proportionate  share. 


486 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


From  these  two  illustrations,  La  Salle  and  Minneapolis,  it 
can  be  seen  that  the  Norwegians  are  taking  some  part  in  the  local 
government,  county  and  city.    The  number  of  men  who  have  held 

such  positions  reaches  up  into  the  thousands. 
City  and  County  Ulvestad,  in  his  "Norge  i  Amerika"  (1901), 
Offices  concludes  that  he  has  found  593  postmasters, 

116  county  commissioners,  113  justices  of  the 
peace,  105  county  registers  of  deeds,  94  members  of  the  legislature 
(1898-1901),  77  postal  clerks,  63  sheriffs,  61  county  treasurers, 
47  clerks  of  court,  46  aldermen,  43  county  auditors,  31  mayors 
of  larger  cities,  31  notary  publics,  27  county  clerks,  27  county 
superintendents  of  schools,  24  judges,  20  police  chiefs,  20  coron- 


Ole  Hanson 
Seattle,  Wash. 


Storm   Bull 
Madison,  Wis. 

City  Mayors 


A.  G.  Bonhus 
Valley  City,  N.  D. 


ers,  19  school  board  members,  25  city  clerks,  13  city  treasurers, 
13  tax  collectors,  13  fire  captains,  12  fire  wardens,  10  street  com- 
missioners of  large  cities,  and  5  presidents  of  city  school  boards. 
In  all,  1,648  offices,  most  of  them  held  in  the  year  1900.  The 
actual  number  of  city  and  county  positions  occupied  by  Norwegians 
was  no  doubt  much  in  excess  of  this  number.  In  1920  there 
were  770,400  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  engaged  in  pub- 
lis  service  occupations.  Over  one-half  of  these  were  in  the  ser- 
vice of  cities  and  counties.  If  the  Norwegians  in  America  com- 
prise 2  per  cent  of  the  population,  and  if  they  hold  2  per  cent  of 
the  offices,  then  there  were  some  15,000  Norwegian  individuals 
in  public  service,  over  one-half  of  whom  would  be  in  city  and 
county  public  positions.  If  they  held  only  1  per  cent  of  the  pub- 
lic offices,  they  would  still  have  nearly  8,000  public  service  po- 
sitions. 


The  American  Period 


487 


The  first  Norwegian  to  run  for  the  office  of  governor  was 
Adolph  Biermann.    He  was  born  in  Oslo,  Norway;  came  to  Olm- 
sted  County,   Minnesota,  in   1862 ;  was  a  sol- 
State  Offices  dier    in    the    Union    Army,    and    was    chosen 

county  auditor  three  times.  In  1882  he 
was  nominated  for  Congress  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  but  was 
defeated.  In  1883  the  Democrats  nominated  him  for  governor. 
He  would  have  been  elected  but  for  the  activity  of  Knute  Nel- 
son. In  1885  Biermann  was  appointed  internal  revenue  collector 
for  Minnesota.  In  1890  he  was  elected  state  auditor,  and  re- 
elected in  1892.  From  1892  until  his  death,  in  1914,  he  lived  on 
his  farm  near  Rochester. 


Capt.   Canute  Matson   Lieut.  Joseph  M.  JohnsonAlderman  Peter  J.  Pryts 
Sheriff,  Cook  Co.,  111.  Chicago,  111.  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

The  first  Norwegian  to  become  the  governor  of  an  American 
commonwealth  was  Knute  Nelson.  Nelson  was  born  in  Voss, 
Norway,  Feb.  2,  1843.  He  came  to  the  United  States  in  1849  at 
the  age  of  six.  His  father  having  died  when  Knute  was  three  years 
old,  he  was  reared  in  poverty.  His  mother  conceived  the  idea  of 
improving  the  opportunity  for  her  boy  by  coming  to  America. 
She  arrived  in  New  York  penniless.  She  borrowed  enough 
money  from  friends  to  gain  admission  at  Castle  Garden.  She 
sat  there  weeping  in  her  loneliness  and  trouble  amidst  the  great 
throng  of  immigrants  from  every  land.  The  little  boy  tried  to 
comfort  her,  saying:  "Do  not  weep,  Mother,  when  I  grow  up  I 
shall  be  next  to  the  king."  They  went  to  Chicago,  where  young 
Knute  sold  papers  on  the  street.  When  he  was  eight  years  of 
age,  they  moved  to  Deerfield,  Wisconsin,  where  they  secured  a 
piece  of  land.  He  attended  district  school  and  Albion  Academy. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  he  enlisted  as  a  private.  In 
1863,  at  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson,  he  was  wounded  and  lay  all 
day  on  the  field  exposed  to  fire  from  both  sides.  He  studied  law 
with  Senator  W.  Vilas  at  Madison  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
In  1867  he  ran  for  the  office  of  assemblyman  and  was  elected.  In 


48$  Norwegian  People  in  America 

1871  he  moved  to  Alexandria,  Minnesota,  and  married  Ida  G. 
Nelson.  That  fall  he  was  elected  county  attorney.  In  1875  he 
became  a  state  senator;  in  1883,  a  congressman;  in  1892,  gover- 
nor of  Minnesota;  in  1895,  United  States  senator.  He  was 
"next  to  the  king."  He  held  political  office  continuously  from 
1867  to  the  day  of  his  death,  April  28,  1923.  During  the  28 
years  he  was  in  the  Senate,  he  was  considered  one  of  the  hardest 
workers  in  Washington  and  one  of  the  most  respected  and  in- 
fluential of  the  members  of  the  Upper  House.  He  was  chair- 
man of  the  Committee  of  Commerce  for  some  years,  and  also  the 
Judiciary  Committee.  His  secretary  and  friend,  ex-Governor 
Jacob  A.  O.  Preus,  pays  tribute  to  the  old  stalwart  senator  in  part 
as  follows :  "Senator  Nelson's  strongest  characteristic  was  his 
simplicity.  In  order  to  understand  his  life,  you  have  but  to  pro- 
ceed to  his  farm  and  his  home  in  Alexandria,  and  view  it  as  it 
there  stands,  a  home  in  the  future  to  be  utilized  as  an  Old  Folks' 

Home,  a  simple  farm  home His  home  in  Washington 

was  a  modest  three-story  building,  old  and  simple  in  appearance. 
I  doubt  that  the  furniture  in  this  residence  could  be  sold  for 
$400.00.  When  I  listed  his  jewelry  in  his  inventory  I  listed  one 
watch.  It  was  presented  to  him  just  after  he  was  inaugurated 
governor  in  1893.  He  had  a  little  old  silver  watch  which  his 
friends  considered  too  shabby  for  a  governor,  and  they  therefore 
presented  him  with  a  gold  one  on  which  was  engraved  'From  your 
Norwegian  and  Swedish  friends.'  " 

The  complete  roster  of  Norwegians  who  have  become  gov- 
ernors numbers  twelve  men,  fourteen  if  we  add  the  two  Whit- 
fields  who  have  been  governors  of  Mississippi.  Concerning  the 
present  governor  of  Mississippi,  Henry  Lewis  Whitfield,  Mr. 
Gaius  Whitfield  of  Macon,  Mississippi,  writes :  "There  were 
two  brothers  who  went  from  Norway  to  Normandy,  and  from 
there  went  to  England  with  William  the  Conqueror.  They  fought 
in  the  Battle  of  Hastings,  and  after  William  ascended  the  English 
throne,  they  settled  in  Lancashire.  Some  of  their  descendants 
came  to  Virginia  in  the  Colonial  days,  but  soon  after  moved  to 
North  Carolina.  There  were  several  of  them  in  the  Continental 
Army.  Some  of  them  moved  to  Alabama  and  Mississippi  about 
1825  to  1830.  The  present  governor  of  Mississippi,  who  is  the 
second  Governor  Whitfield  of  Mississippi,  is  of  the  third  gen- 
eration of  the  family  in  this  state.  There  are  two  different  coats 
of  arms  in  the  family  that  show  the  name  spelt  Hvitfeldt."  The 
governor  himself  says :  "I  believe  the  name  Whitfield  was 
formerly  Whit f eld  and  is  probably  Norwegian.  I  have  never 
heard,  however,  that  I  was  of  Norwegian  extraction.  I  rather 
think  that  my  people  were  English."  His  descent,  therefore,  from 
the  Norsemen,  is  at  best  quite  remote,  and  he  is  consequently  not 
included  in  the  following  roster  of  Norse  governors : 


The  American  Period 


489 


AMERICAN   GOVERNORS    OF   NORWEGIAN    DESCENT 

Name                                State  Term                    Party 

Nelson,  Knute   Minnesota  1892-1895  Republican 

Preus,  Jacob  Aall  O.  .. .  Minnesota  1921-1925  Republican 

Christianson,  Theo Minnesota  1925- Republican 

Lee,  Andrew  E South  Dakota  1896-1900                 Populist 

Herreicl,  Chas.  N South  Dakota  1900-1904  Republican 

Norbeck,  Peter   South  Dakota  1917-1921  Republican 

Gunderson,   Carl    South  Dakota  1925- Republican 

Davidson,  James  O Wisconsin  1906-1911  Republican 

Blaine,  John   J Wisconsin  1921- Republican 

Nestos,  Ragnvald  A.  ...  North  Dakota  1921-1925  Republican 

Sorlie,  Arthur  G North  Dakota  1925- Republican 

Erickson,   lohn  E Montana  1925- Democrat 

It  should  be  noted  that  Peter  Norbeck's  father  was  a  Swede 
— Gcfran  Norbeck,  born  in  Sweden.  He  moved  to  Norway  in 
1854  and  became  a  preacher  there.  He  was  a  pastor  in  the  Nor- 
wegian church,  Hauge  Synod,  in  South  Dakota,  1885-1900.  The 
father  of  John  J.  Blaine  was  not  a  Norwegian.  Plis  mother  was 
Elizabeth  Johnson  Brunstad  by  name.  She  emigrated  from 
Hadeland,  Norway,  in  1867.  Both  Nelson  and  Nestos  were  born 
in  Norway,  both  at  Voss.  Quite  a  number  of  Norwegians  have 
run  for  the  governorship  but  have  been  defeated. 

A  case  in  point:  Joseph  S.  Anderson  ran  strong  on  the  Re- 
publican ticket  in  1924  for  the  governorship  of  Iowa,  but  was 
defeated  at  the  primaries.  In  North  Dakota  there  were  three 
tickets,  each  one  headed  by  a  Norwegian  candidate  for  governor. 
This  same  thing  occured  in  South  Dakota  in  the  campaign  of 
1895.  There  were  three  candidates  for  the  governorship,  and  all 
three  were  Norwegians. 

Carl  (j.  ( ).  Hansen  has  published  an  interesting  and  compre- 
hensive history  of  the  Norwegian  people  in  America  during  the 
past  century  which  has  been  running  as  a  serial  in  ''Minneapolis 
Tidende."  In  chapter  29  of  this  serial  he  gives  a  good  account  of 
Norwegians  who  have  held  high  positions  in  public  office  below 
that  of  governor.  On  the  basis  of  his  information,  checked  by 
the  legislative  manuals  and  blue  books  of  the  northwestern  states, 
the  following  names  are  given.     The  list  is  not  complete. 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS  OF  NORWEGIAN  DESCENT 

Name                                                                    State  Term 

Davidson,  James   O Wisconsin  1903-1906 

Dahl,   C.   M Wisconsin 

Rice,  A.  E Minnesota  1887-1891 

Frankson,  Thomas  M  innesota  1917-1921 

Herreid.   Charles  N South  Dakota  1893-1896 

Norbeck,   Peter    South  Dakota  1915-1916 

Gunderson,  Carl   South  Dakota  1921-1924 

Kraabel,  A.  T North   Dakota  1013-1914 

1917-1918 


490 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


SECRETARIES  OF  STATE  OF  NORWEGIAN  DESCENT 

Name  State                            Term 

Warner,  Hans  B Wisconsin  1878-1882 

Irgens,  John    S Minnesota  1876-1880 

Brown,   Frederick  P Minnesota  1891-1895 

Ringsrud,    A.   O South  Dakota  1889-1892 

Thorson,   Thomas    South  Dakota  1893-1896 

Berg,    O.    C South  Dakota  1901-1903 

Flittie,    John    North  Dakota  1889-1892 

Dahl,  Christian  M North  Dakota  1893-1896 

Hoff,   O.   P Oregon  1920- .... 


STATE  TREASURERS  OF  NORWEGIAN  DESCENT 

Name  State  Term 

Peterson,   Sewell  A Wisconsin  1899-1903 

Davidson,  James   O Wisconsin  1903-1904 

Dahl,  Andrew  H Wisconsin  1907-1913 

Kittelson,   Charles    Minnesota  1880-1887 

Gilbertsen,  Gilbert  S Iowa  1900-1907 

Johnson,   George   G South  Dakota  1909-1912 

Helgerson,    G.   H South   Dakota  1917-1919 

Nomland,  Knud  J North  Dakota  1893- 1894 

Peterson,    Albert    North   Dakota  1905-1908 

Olson,  Gunder  North  Dakota  1911-1914 

Steen,   John    North  Dakota  1915-1918 

Olson,   Olbert  A North  Dakota  1919-1920 


STATE  AUDITORS   OF   NORWEGIAN   DESCENT 
Name  State  Term 

Biermann,   Adolf    Minnesota  1891-1895 

Iverson,    Samuel    G Minnesota  1903-1915 

Preus,   Jacob  A.   O Minnesota  1915-1921 

Anderson,  H.  B.   (?)    South  Dakota  1911-1914 

Jorgenson,   Carl   O.    (?)    North  Dakota  1913-1916 

Clausen,  C.  W Washington  ....  - 


ATTORNEY  GENERALS  OF  NORWEGIAN  DESCENT 

Name  State  Term 

Blaine,  John  J Wisconsin  1919-1921 

Ekern,  Herman  L Wisconsin  1923- 

Frich,   Carl   N North  Dakota  1903-1906 

Linde,  Henry North   Dakota  1915-1916 


STATE  SCHOOL   SUPERINTENDENTS   OF 
NORWEGIAN   DESCENT 

Name  State 

Ustrud,   H.  A South  Dakota 

Lawrence,   C.   G South  Dakota 

Halland,   J.   G North  Dakota 


Term 
1907-1911 
1911-1914 
1 907- 1 9 10 


The  American  Period 


491 


RAILROAD   COMMISSIONERS  OF  NORWEGIAN  DESCENT 

Name  State  Term 

Haugen,   Nils  P Wisconsin  1882-1887 

Peterson,  Atley  P Wisconsin  1887- 1901 

Erickson,   Halford    (?)    Wisconsin  1905-1916 

Ringdal,  P.  M Minnesota  1899-1901 

Jacobson,  O.  P.  B Minnesota                       1914- 

Rasmussen,  Nells  P.  (?)    North  Dakota  1893-1894 

Erickson,    Henry    North  Dakota  1899-1900 

Christianson,    John    North  Dakota  1905-1906 

Stafne,    Erick    North  Dakota  1907-1908 

Anderson,   O.  P.   N North  Dakota  1909-1916 

Johnson,  M.  P North  Dakota  1917-1918 

Aandahl,    S.   J.    .: North  Dakota  1917-1920 

(5)   National  Officials 

CONGRESSMEN  OF  NORWEGIAN  DESCENT 

Name                                State  Term  Party 

Nelson,  Knute   Minnesota  1883-1889  Republican 

Haugen,  Nils  P Wisconsin  1887-1895  Republican 

Halvorson,  Kittel    Minnesota  1890-1892  Prohibitionist 

Johnson,  Martin   North  Dakota  1890-1898  Republican 

Boen,   Haldor   E Minnesota  1892-1894  Populist 

Dahle,  Herman  B Wisconsin  1898-1902  Republican 

Haugen,  Gilbert  N Iowa  1899-....  Republican 

Steenerson,   Haldor    ....     Minnesota  1903-1921  Republican 

Volstead,   Andrew  J.    . .     Minnesota  1903-1921  Republican 

Gr0nna,  Asle    North  Dakota  1905-1911  Republican 

Nelson,  John  Mandt  ....     Wisconsin  1906-1919  Republican 

1921- 

Anderson,    Sydney    Minnesota  1911-1925  Republican 

Helgesen,  Henry  T North  Dakota  191 1-....  Republican 

Van  Dyke,  Carl  Chester     Minnesota  1915-1919  Democrat 

Knutson,  Harold Minnesota  191 7-....  Republican 

Christopherson,  Chas.  A.     South  Dakota  1919-....  Republican 

Burtness,  Olger  B North  Dakota  1921-....  Republican 

Michaelson,  M.Alfred..     Illinois  1921-....  Republican 

Williamson,  William   ...     South  Dakota  1921-....  Republican 

Kvale,    Ole   J Minnesota  1923-....  Farmer-Labor 

Wefald,  Knud  Minnesota  1923- Republican 

Andresen,  August  H.  ...     Minnesota  1925- Republican 


These  congressmen  have  made  good.  They  have  been  honest 
and  democratic.  Nils  P.  Haugen  is  one  of  the  greatest  tax 
experts  in  America.  He  has  been  the  tax  commissioner  in  Wis- 
consin, 1901-1921,  counsel  for  the  tax  commission  in  Montana, 
president  of  the  National  Tax  Association.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  to  advocate  income  tax.  Gilbert  N.  Haugen  is  the  chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  in  the  House  and  is  the 
author  of  the  Haugen  Packer  and  Stockyards  Act,  the  Butter 
Standards  Act,  the  Bee  Act,  the  Anti-Profiteering  Act,  and  a 
large  number  of  other  bills  supporting  the  farmers  and  consum- 
ers.   Andrew  J.  Volstead  wrote  the  Volstead  Act  for  federal  pro- 


492  Norwegian  People  in  America 

hibition  and  his  good  name  has  thereby  at  once  been  blasphemed 
in  the  gutter  and  praised  from  the  housetops  as  one  of  the  great- 
est benefactors  of  mankind  in  his  day.  He  is  the  author  of  the 
Farmers'  Cooperative  Marketing  Act  and  other  bills.  John  Mandt 
Nelson  is  a  Christian  gentleman,  an  Israelite  in  whom  there  is  no 
guile,  who  ably  represents  one  of  the  most  progressive  states  in 
the  Union,  the  home  of  LaFollette  and  the  Progressive  Party. 
Sydney  Anderson  is  a  half  Swede,  and  a  credit  to  both  nationali- 
ties. He  has  been  chairman  of  the  National  Agriculture  Confer- 
ence, 1922 ;  the  National  Wheat  Conference,  1923 ;  and  since  1923 
he  has  been  president  of  the  Wheat  Council  of  the  U.  S.  Van- 
Dyke  is  the  only  Democrat  among  these  Norsemen.  His  father 
was  of  Dutch  origin,  his  mother  of  Norwegian — Bertha  Solum. 
He  was  a  Spanish-American  war  veteran  and  was  interested  in 
the  railway  mail  service.  Harold  Knutson  is  the  Republican  whip 
in  the  House,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Pensions.  Ole  J. 
Kvale  is  a  Norwegian  Lutheran  pastor.  In  Congress  his  clear 
ringing  voice  is  often  heard,  and  with  increasing  respect.  To 
him  belongs  the  honor  of  having  secured  from  the  House  the  pas- 
sage of  a  bill  authorizing  the  issuing  of  2,000,000  stamps  com- 
memorative of  the  Norse-American  Centennial  and  of  40,000 
silver  medals.  The  stamps  are  of  two  denominations — two  cents 
and  five.  The  two  cent  stamp  with  the  Sloop  Restaurationen  on 
it  is  black  and  red — the  ship  is  black,  the  border  and  legends  are 
red.  The  five-cent  stamp  is  black  and  blue,  with  similar  ar- 
rangement, except  that  the  ship  is  flanked  on  the  left  by  the  Norse 
flag  and  on  the  right  by  the  American  Stars  and  Stripes.  They 
were  planned  by  Mr.  Eidsness,  a  Norwegian  in  charge  of  the 
Stamp  Division. 

UNITED    STATES   SENATORS   OF   NORWEGIAN  DESCENT 
Name                                State                                Term  Party 

Nelson,  Knute   Minnesota  1895-1923  Republican 

Smoot,   Reed Utah  1903- Republican 

Johnson,  Martin   North  Dakota  1909-1910  Republican 

Gr0nna,  Asle  J North  Dakota  1911-1921  Republican 

Bursum,  Holm  O New  Mexico  1921- Republican 

Norbeck,  Peter   South  Dakota  1921- Republican 

Shipstead,  Henrik Minnesota  1923- Farmer-Labor 

Reed  Smoot  is  a  half-Norwegian.  His  father  was  Abraham 
Owen  Smoot;  his  mother,  Anne  K.  Mauretz,  a  Norwegian.  He 
has  been  a  woolen  manufacturer,  merchant  and  banker.  He  is 
one  of  the  apostles  of  the  Mormon  faith.  He  is  the  chairman  of 
the  Public  Buildings  Commission  at  Washington  and  vice-chair- 
man of  the  World  War  Foreign  Debt  Commission.  Holm  O. 
Bursum  was  born  at  Fort  Dodge,  Iowa,  of  Norwegian  parents. 
He  has  been  a  resident  of  New  Mexico  since  1881  and  is  engaged 


The  American  Period 


493 


in  stock  raising.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  Territorial 
Central  Committee,  1905-1911,  Republican  floor  leader  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention,  1910.  Peter  Norbeck  was  a  South 
Dakota  farmer.  When  he  was  25  years  of  age  he  began  well 
drilling  and  developed  the  largest  and  most  successful  firm  in 
this  line  in  the  state — the  Norbeck  and  Nicholson  Co.,  Platte, 
South  Dakota.  When  he  turned  to  politics  he  found  success 
awaiting  him  also  there.  Henrik  Shipstead  was  a  dentist  at  Glen- 
wood.  His  neighbors  wanted  him  as  mayor.  He  made  a  good 
mayor.  They  wanted  him  to  go  to  the  state  legislature.  He  went. 
Then  he  ran  for  governor  and  was  defeated.  He  hitched  his 
wagon  to  a  star  and  announced  his  candidacy  for  the  U.  S.  Senate. 
He  won. 


#;  Mk 


Juul  Dieserud,  Librarian        Thorvald   Solberg       Thorstein  Jahr,  Librarian 
Library  of  Congress       Register   of    Copyright       Library  of  Congress 

A  few  Norwegians  have  been  chosen  to  represent  the  United 
States  in  foreign  lands.  Rasmus  Bjo'rn  Anderson  was  the  first 
to  attain  to  this  honor.  He  was  appointed  by  President  Cleve- 
land as  U.  S.  minister  to  Denmark,  1885-1889.  'The  Life  Story 
of  R.  B.  Anderson,"  written  by  A.  O.  Barton  on  the  basis  of  con- 
versations with  Prof.  Anderson,  tells  the  tale  of  this  ministry  and 
the  high  points  of  interest  in  this  great  man's  busy  life.  Lauritz 
Selmer  Swenson  was  appointed  U.  S.  minister  to  Denmark  in 
1897-1905  by  Presidents  McKinley  and  Roosevelt.  In  1909  he 
was  appointed  to  Switzerland;  in  1911  to  Norway.  In  1913  he 
came  back  to  America  to  take  charge  of  his  banking  affairs.  He 
was  vice  president  of  the  Union  State  Bank,  Minneapolis,  1905- 
1910;  president  of  the  Mercantile  State  Bank,  1915 — .  Presi- 
dent Harding  appointed  him  to  Norway  in  1921,  and  he  again 
accepted.  He  has  the  finest  U.  S.  Legation  House  in  Europe 
and  is  much  beloved.  Like  R.  B.  Anderson  he  is  a  graduate  of 
Luther  College.  Swenson  was  principal  of  Luther  Academy, 
1889-1897.     He  was  appointed  by   President  Taft  to  represent 


494  Norwegian  People  in  America 

the  United  States  at  the  Spitzbergen  Conference,  Christiania, 
1913.  He  is  the  president  of  the  Scandinavian  Art  Society  of 
America.  Another  Norwegian-American  diplomat  is  Nicolay  A. 
Grevstad,  who  was  United  States  minister  to  Uruguay  and  Para- 
guay, 1911-1917,  with  headquarters  at  Montevideo.  He  came  to 
America  as  a  newcomer  in  1883,  served  on  the  editorial  staff  of 
the  "Minneapolis  Journal"  and  the  "Minneapolis  Tribune"  until 
1900.  He  edited  the  "Minneapolis  Times,"  1900-1901,  "Skandi- 
naven,"  1901-1911.  Since  his  return  from  South  America  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Minnesota  Safety  Commission  and  of 
the  General  Publicity  Service,  Chicago.  John  Allyne  Gade,  New 
York  architect  and  banker,  was  a  naval  attache  at  the  U.  S.  Lega- 
tion, Copenhagen,  1917-1919;  member  of  the  Baltic  Mission  to 
Lithuania,  Latvia  and  Esthonia,  and  represented  the  United  States 
in  these  new  states,  1919.  Gabriel  Bie  Ravndal  was  editor  of  the 
"Sioux  Falls  Ekko"  and  the  president  of  the  Scandinavian  Sing- 
ers' Association.  Then,  in  1898,  he  was  called  by  Uncle  Sam  to 
take  a  consulship  at  Beirut,  Syria.  He  staid  there  until  1905,  then 
he  was  transferred  to  Dawson,  Alaska.  In  1906-1910  he  was 
consul  general  at  Beirut,  and  at  Constantinople,  Turkey,  1910- 
1915.  During  the  war  he  was  in  charge  of  the  consular  interests 
of  England,  France,  Italy,  Servia,  Russia,  Montenegro,  Switzer- 
land. Was  appointed  consul  general  at  St.  Nazare,  France,  1917, 
at  Nantes,  1918.  Invited  to  appear  before  the  American  Peace 
Mission,  1919.  Appointed  U.  S.  commercial  and  consul  general, 
Constantinople,  1920.  Member  of  many  Oriental  societies,  presi- 
dent of  the  Beirut  Relief  Committee.  His  son,  Christian  M. 
Ravndal,  has  been  in  the  consular  service  four  years,  stationed  at 
Vienna  and  Frankfort.  He  has  been  promoted  eight  times  in 
two  years.  Olaf  Ravndal,  another  son,  holds  high  and  respon- 
sible positions  with  the  American  Express  Co.,  having  served  in 
New  York,  Athens  and  Constantinople.  These  two  young  men 
are  Luther  College  graduates,  1920.  Lars  S.  Reque,  professor 
of  Latin  and  French  at  Luther  College  for  38  years,  was  U.  S. 
general  consul  at  Rotterdam,  Holland,  1893-1897.  Tames  Adolph 
Ostrand  was  born  in  Trondhjem,  Norway,  in  1872.  Came  to 
Minnesota,  1892.  Became  a  lawyer.  Was  made  judge  of  Court 
of  Land  Registration,  Philippines,  1909-1911;  judge,  district 
court,  1911-1914;  chief  judge.  Manila  Court,  1911-1914;  judge, 
district  court.  1914-1920;  chief  justice,  appellate  court,  Santo 
Domingo,  1920-1921 ;  associate  justice,  supreme  court,  P.  I., 
1921 — .  Wm.  C.  Magelssen  has  been  the  U.  S.  consul  at 
Melbourne,  Australia;  John  Schroeder.  at  Costa  Rica;  Otto  O. 
Boyesen,  at  Gothenburg;  Robert  S.  Bergh,  at  Gothenburg;  and 
B.  M.  Rasmussen,  at  Stavanger. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of   Norwegians  holding  office  in 
Washington,  the  capital  city.     Washington  has  236,027  men  and 


The  American  Period  495 

women  classified  as  breadwinners,  and  16,070  of  these  hold  pub- 
lic service  positions.  The  Norwegian  contribution  to  this  vast 
concourse  of  employes  is  but  as  a  drop  in  a  bucket.  Still  that 
drop  is  of  good  quality.  Major  Oscar  N.  Solbert  is  the  assistant 
in  charge  of  public  buildings  and  grounds,  Department  of  War. 
Michael  L.  Eidsness  is  the  superintendent  of  stamps,  Post  Office 
Department.  A.  H.  Hoiland  is  the  disbursing  clerk,  Navy  Depart- 
ment. Carl  W.  Larson  is  the  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Dairying, 
Agriculture  Department;  E.  W.  Nelson  is  the  chief  biologist  of 
the  Biological  Survey;  A.  T.  Larson  is  the  chief  of  the  Synthetic 
Ammonia  Research  Laboratory;  Laura  A.  Thompson  is  the 
librarian  of  the  Department  of  Labor ;  Emma  Lundberg  is  the  di- 
rector of  the  Social  Service  Division  of  the  Children's  Bureau; 
Mary  Anderson  and  Agnes  L.  Peterson  are  in  charge  of  the 
Women's  Bureau.  Leonhard  Stejneger  is  the  head  curator  of  the 
National  Museum  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Torstein  Jahr 
is  a  cataloguer  and  reviser  and  expert  on  Scandinavian  at  the 
Library  of  Congress;  Juul  Dieserud  is  also  employed  as  an  ex- 
pert reviser  in  the  Catalog  Divison.  J.  C.  M.  Hanson,  since 
1910  associate  director  of  the  libraries  at  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago, was  the  chief  of  the  Catalog  Division  at  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress, 1897-1910,  and  the  one  who  founded  the  present  Library 
of  Congress  Catalog  System.  Karl  T.  Jacobsen,  since  1920 
librarian  at  Luther  College,  was  a  cataloguer  at  the  Library  of 
Congress,  1907-1911,  a  classifier  at  the  University  of  Chicago, 
1911-1920.  Jahr,  Hanson  and  Jacobsen,  three  of  the  most  expert 
librarians  in  the  United  States,  are  all  Luther  College  graduates. 
Thorvald  Solberg  has  been  the  register  of  copyright  since  1897. 
He  has  taken  active  part  in  efforts  to  secure  international  copy- 
rights. The  president's  body  guard  is  headed  by  Major  Seibert, 
a  Norwegian.  The  Norwegians  have  respect  for  constituted  au- 
thority and  obey  the  laws  of  the  land.  They  pray  every  Sunday 
in  their  churches  and  in  manv  of  their  daily  prayers :  "Protect 
and  bless  Thy  servants,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the 
Governor  of  this  commonwealth,  our  judges  and  magistrates,  and 
all  .others  in  authority." 

This  book  is  provided  with  pictures  of  the  governors,  senators 
and  congressmen  of  Norwegian-American  stock.  Also  a  few 
pictures  to  illustrate  the  hundreds  and  thousands  in  city  and  coun- 
tv.  state  and  national  public  service.  Of  city  and  county  service 
six  were  chosen — Andrew  G.  Bonhus,  mavor  Valley  City,  North 
Dakota ;  Storm  Bull,  mayor  of  Madison,  Wisconsin ;  Ole  Hanson, 
mayor  of  Seattle,  Washington ;  Peter  J.  Pryts,  Minneapolis  alder- 
man ;  Joseph  M.  Johnson,  Chicago  lieutenant  of  police :  Canute 
R.  Matson,  Cook  County  sheriff.  Bonhus  is  a  Republican  and 
checked  a  lot  of  grafting,  waste  and  booze  traffic  while  in  office. 
A  St.  Olaf  College  graduate  and  a  law  graduate  from  the  Uni- 


496  Norwegian  People  in  America 

versity  of  Minnesota,  he  established  a  plumbing  company  together 
with  his  brothers,  C.  Alfred  and  Arthur  M.  At  present  he  is  in 
the  hardware  business  in  Minneapolis.  Bull  was  a  Democrat  and 
a  professor  of  steam  engineering  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin, 
1879-1907.  He  was  a  brother  of  Ole  Bull,  the  violinist.  Hanson 
is  a  Democrat.  He  is  a  self-made  man.  Studied  law  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  Wisconsin.  Settled  in  Seattle  and  engaged 
in  real  estate.  Sponsor  for  many  good  laws  in  the  Washington 
Legislature.  Elected  mayor  in  1918  and  became  nationally  prom- 
inent by  prompt  and  decisive  measures  in  meeting  and  overcom- 
ing a  general  strike,  Feb.  1,  1919.  Author  of  "Americanism  vs. 
Bolshevism."  Is  now  a  real  estate  man  in  Los  Angeles,  Califor- 
nia. Peter  Pryts  is  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  a  Socialist  in 
politics.  Is  a  good  man,  with  a  typically  Norwegian  high  sense 
of  law  and  right.  Joseph  M.  Johnson  is  distantly  related  to  Ole 
Johnson,  the  Slooper.  and  is  perhaps  the  man  in  the  world  most 
interested  in  the  Sloopers.  He  was  born  July  4,  1865,  on  the 
John  Rosdail  estate.  Miller  Twp.,  La  Salle  County.  Illinois.  Took 
his  B.  S.  at  Valparaiso  in  1892.  Taught  school  at  Stavanger  and 
elsewhere  four  years.  Became  a  patrolman  in  Chicago,  1896; 
a  sergeant,  1906;  a  lieutenant,  1912,  in  charge  of  S.  Green  and 
85th  Street  Station.  10th  District.  He  has  kept  a  dairy  for 
20  years.  Colonel  Canute  Ragnvald  Matson  was  born  at  Voss 
in  1843.  Left  for  America  in  1849.  Attended  Albion  Academy. 
Was  Knute  Nelson's  room  mate  at  school.  Studied  law  and  be- 
came a  soldier  in  the  13th  Wisconsin  Infantry.  Was  superin- 
tendent of  Lincoln  Park  Substation,  Chicago,  1866-1886;  sheriff 
of  Cook  County,  1886-1890,  the  first  sheriff  to  hold  a  four-year 
term.  Also  justice  of  the  peace  and  coroner.  Married  Isabella, 
daughter  of  Rev.  Ole  Andrewson,  of  Jefferson  Prairie,  Wiscon- 
sin. She  was  president  of  the  School  Children's  Aid  Society 
and  founder  and  president  of  the  Lutheran  Women's  League  of 
Chicago.  Matson  attained  much  prominence  during  the  Hay- 
market  riot.  He  would  have  become  governor  of  Illinois  had 
not  one  of  his  prisoners  once  escaped,  through  no  fault  of  Mat- 
son's. 

Of  men  of  state  and  national  positions  three  Jacobsons  were 
chosen  to  represent  the  state.  Every  major  office  in  this  land 
could  be  manned  by  Norwegian  Jocobsons.  As  to  the  three  whose 
pictures  are  presented,  Jacob  N.  Jacobson  is  a  banker  at  Hills, 
and  a  member  of  the  Minnesota  Legislature.  He  has  been  treas- 
urer of  the  National  organization  of  the  Young  People's  Luther 
League  since  1909.  Jacob  F.  Jacobson,  "Honest  Jake,"  of  Madi- 
son, Minn.,  has  put  more  good  laws  on  the  statute  books  of  Min- 
nesota than  perhaps  any  other  man.  He  was  a  strong  candidate  for 
governor,  but  was  defeated  by  the  unjust  slogan  of  his  enemies : 
"He  eats  pie  with  a  knife."   O.  P.  B.  Jacobson  is  one  of  nature's 


The  American  Period 


497 


noblemen.  He  is  the  conscientious  and  fearless  railroad  commis- 
sioner, with  a  heart  big  enough  to  encompass  Norwegian  interests 
as  well  as  American.  He  is  president  of  the  Norwegian  Society 
of  America.  During  the  World  War  his  loyalty  to  this  country 
was  characteristically  expressed  in  a  speech  in  which  he  mentioned 
that  13  of  his  sons  and  nephews  were  at  the  front.  With  intense 
earnestness  he  declared:  "Ve  must  vin  the  wictory!" 

Of  the  Washington  group  the  photos  of  Thorstein  Jahr, 
Thorvald  Solberg  and  Juul  Dieserud  are  printed.  No  apologies 
are  offered.    They  are  good  men. 


Jacob  F.  Jacobson 
Senator,  Minn. 


Jacob  N.  Jacobson 
Representative,  Minn. 


O.  P.  B.  Jacobson 
R.  R.  Com.,  Minn. 


The  Norwegians  are  not  as  a  class  seekers  after  office.  If 
they  had  come  from  the  official  classes  in  Norway  instead  of 
from  the  farming  and  fishing  population,  they  would  have  forged 
to  the  front  more  rapidly  than  they  have  done,  not  in  the  matter 
of  doing  good  work  and  being  good  citizens,  but  in  regard  to 
getting  offices  and  becoming  prominent.  When  they  do  seek  of- 
fice, they  have  to  overcome  the  handicap  of  nationality.  The  so- 
called  Americans  are  a  proud  race  and  jealous  of  their  Anglo- 
Saxon  institutions.  They  do  not  quickly  step  aside  and  say  to  the 
other  races :  "Say,  come  here.  Let  us  give  you  an  office  as  presi- 
dent of  our  university,  governor  of  our  state  and  president  of  the 
United  States."  The  wonder  is,  that  so  many  Norwegians  have 
gotten  office  at  all.  It  is  not  a  mere  co-incidence  that  this  year 
there  are  five  Norwegian  governors  in  the  United  States.  They 
have  deserved  it.  Joseph  Anderson  should  also  have  been  elected 
governor  of  Iowa — he  deserved  it.  They  are  able  to  hold  any 
office  in  the  gift  of  this  great  and  good  land.  As  Oley  Nelson, 
of  Slater,  Iowa,  the  grand  old  Civil  War  veteran,  said  in  his  speech 
at  the  Norway  Centennial,  1914 :  "I  may  be  reasonably  pardoned 
if  I,  at  my  age,  say  that  I  have  an  idea  that  even  I  could  make  a 
fairly  good  president  of  the  United  States,  for  what  the  country 
needs  is  a  chief  executive  who  is  from  the  common  people,  sensi- 
ble and  honest,  and  these  qualities  I  hope  that  I  have.    And  one 


498  Norwegian  People  in  America 

thing  I  am  very  sure  of,  and  that  is,  that  Mrs.  Oley  Nelson,  my 
wife,  would  make  an  excellent  First  Lady  of  the  Land,  the  occu- 
pant of  the  White  House."  The  Norwegians,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, are  in  race,  language,  history,  culture,  institutions  and 
genius,  of  all  nationalities  most  like  the  English,  and  therefore, 
they  have  proven  the  quickest  to  assimilate  with  the  American 
stock.  They  are  quicker  to  become  naturalized  in  fact  as  well 
as  in  name  than  even  the  English,  who  cling  longingly  to  their 
British  ways.  This  is  the  strength  and,  at  the  same  time,  the 
greatest  weakness  of  the  Norwegians.  They  become  Americans 
so  fast  that  they  forget  at  times  to  take  along  with  them  their 
cultural  heritage,  which  should  help  to  strengthen  and  broaden 
American  life  and  institutions.  Best  of  all  the  good  things  they 
have,  is  their  Christian  faith  and  their  moral  earnestness.  This 
makes  men  of  them,  courageous,  gentle,  simple,  thoughtful,  in- 
dependent, obedient,  thrifty,  generous,  loyal,  enduring,  manly, 
Christian  men.  The  country  at  all  times  needs  such  men.  As 
the  poet  sings : 

Give  us  men ! 
Men  from  every  rank, 
Fresh  and   free  and  frank, 
Men  of  thought  and  reading, 
Men  of  light  and  leading, 
Men  of  loyal  breeding, 
National  welfare  speeding. 
Men  of  faith  and  not  of  faction, 
Men  of  lofty  aim  in  action — 
Give  us  men  ! — I  say  again  : 

Give  us  men ! 

Give  us  men ! 
Strong  and  stalwart  ones, 
Men  whom  highest  hope  inspires, 
Men  whom  purest  honor  fires, 
Men  who  trample  self  beneath  them. 
Men  who  make  their  country  wreathe  them, 

As  her  noble  sons, 

Worthy  of  their   sires. 
Men  who  never  shame  their  mothers, 
Men  who  never  fail  their  brothers, 
True,  however  false  are  others — 
Give  us  men ! — I  say  again, 

Give  us  men ! 

Give  us  men ! 
Men  who,  when  the  tempest  gathers, 
Grasp  the  standard  of  their  fathers, 

In  the  thickest  of  the  fight. 
Men  who  strike  for  homes  and  altar, 
(Let  the  coward  cringe  and  falter) 

God  defend  the  right. 
True  as  truth,  though  lorn  and  lonely, 
Tender  as  the  brave  are  only — 
Men  who  tread  where  saints  have  trod, 
Men  for  Country,  Right  and  God — 
Give  us  men! — I   say  again,  again, 

Give  us  men ! 


The  American  Period  499 

18.    Patriotism 

The  patriotism  of  the  Norwegian-American  can  not  very  well 
be  challenged.  During  the  Civil  War  nine  per  cent  of  the  Nor- 
wegians took  up  arms  as  volunteer  soldiers ;  in  the  World  War 
six  per  cent  of  the  Norwegians  went  with  the  American  colors 
while  only  four  per  cent  of  the  population  at  large  were  mustered 
into  service.  In  times  of  peace  the  Norwegians  obey  the  law  and 
work  hard  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  land.  They  do  it  with  the 
vim  and  vigor  of  youth,  with  the  love  which  Jacob  had  for  Rachel. 
He  worked  seven  years  for  her,  but  they  seemed  as  so  many 
days  "for  the  love  he  had  to  her." 

The  opening  poem,  "America,  My  Country,"  by  Jens  Kristian 
Grp'ndahl,  editor  of  the  "Red  Wing  Daily  Republican,"  is  a 
spontaneous  and  sincere  expression  of  the  average,  sane  Nor- 
wegian-American, whether  war-horse  or  pacifist.  Grp'ndahl  is  a 
man  of  peace  and  of  principle.  When  he  was  in  the  State  Legis- 
lature of  Minnesota  he  would  not  accept  railroad  passes,  because 
he  did  not  believe  that  a  legislator  should  do  so.  His  stand  started 
a  movement  which  has  since  resulted  in  laws  in  many  states 
regulating  passes  and,  finally,  a  national  law  prohibiting  passes. 
He  has  written  numerous  poems  expressing  his  high  idealism  and 
their  practical  application.  The  poem  "America,  My  Country," 
was  read  in  Congress  during  the  War  and  adopted  for  schools 
by  the  educational  departments  of  six  states. 

A  large  number  of  other  writers  have  written  patriotic  poems 
addressed  to  America  or  its  flag.  Nels  Bergan  wrote  a  poem 
entitled  "Our  Land,"  and  received  a  letter  of  thanks  from  Presi- 
dent Woodrow  Wilson  in  person.  Here  is  a  cluster  of  beautiful 
national  poems  with  America  as  the  theme : 

Songs  to  America 
Askeland,   Hallvard :   "Vinlands    Sang" 
Garborg,  Samuel :  "Fjerde  Juli  Sang" 
Guldseth,    Olaf :    "Norsk-amerikanernes    Sang" 
Heitmann,  John :  "This  Land  of  Ours" 
Norstog,   Jon :     "Amerika,  eg  takker  deg." 
Teigen,  Knut  M.  O. :  "Old  Glory" 
Wergeland,  Agnes  M. :  "America  Magna" 

As  Ristad  sings  in  "The  Pioneer": 

I  love  this  mighty  land  of  God — 
My  fathers'  home  and  mine, — 
Where  honest  labor  proudly  trod 
In  peaceful  battle-line. 
From  Maine  and  to  the  Golden  Gate 
Is  flung  our  free  and  fair  estate 
Upon  the  shining  sod. 


500  Norwegian  People  in  America 

The  Norwegians  in  Canada  are  not  a  whit  different  from  their 
kinsmen  in  the  States,  except  that  they  love  Canada  instead  of 
the  United  States  and  are  loyal  citizens  with  might  and  main  up 
there.  Their  poets  are  laboring  to  express  this  devotion  in  lyric 
strains.  As  in  the  following  song  to  Canada  in  Norwegian  dialect 
by  R.  B. : 

CANADA 

Aa   nei,   so   fagert  eit  solskins-ver, 

Aa   nei !  aa  nei !   so  vakkert  her  er. 

Her  eig  vi  heime  baad'  dti  og  eg. 

Canada !  Canada !  Land  fyr  meg, 

Her  rudde  far  min  seg  grund  og  gard, 
so  ryggen  vart  boygd,  naeven  vart  hard. 
Han  sleit  og  stridde  fyr  meg  og  deg. 
Canada !   Canada !   Land   fyr  meg. 

Sjaa  deg  'kring,  skal  du  sjaa  kor  det  gror, 
det  bryter  og  veks,  der  far  min  for. 
Alt  dette  straev  var  fyr  meg  og  deg. 
Canada !   Canada !   Land   fyr  meg. 

Mor  mi  var  med,   ho  sveittad  og  sleit, 
taara  turkad,   um   nokot  var  leit. 
Ho  v0lte  og  stelte  um  meg  og  deg. 
Canada !   Canada !   Land"  fyr  meg. 

Naar  far  var  sliten  og  tung  i   sind, 
mor  mi    strauk  lindt  hans    skjeggute   kind. 
Dei  lyftad  samen,  —  eg  saag  det  eg. 
Canada !   Canada !   Land   fyr  meg. 

H0gsaete-stolpar   fraa  Noreg  var, 
saett  vart  i  stova  i  fars  sin  gard. 
Alt  gjort  i  stann  fyr  meg  og  deg. 
Canada !   Canada !   Land   fyr  meg. 

Canada  ligg  her  fagert  og  stort. 
venter   at  sonen  nokot   faer   gjort. 
Canada  roper  paa  meg  og  deg. 
Canada !  Canada !   Land  fyr  meg. 

The  Norwegians  in  Canada,  as  in  the  United  States,  have  not 
forgotten  Norway,  and  their  love  for  that  far-off  country  of  their 
own  birth,  perhaps,  or  that  of  their  sires,  has  not  grown  cold. 

In  his  poem  "Emigranten"  (The  Emigrant)  Franklin  Peter- 
sen expresses  the  wish  that  he  may  always  be  poor  and  un- 
favored if  America  should  cause  him  to  despise  his  original  home. 
Thus,  in  the  Norwegian : 

EMIGRANTEN 

Norge,  o  Norge !  nei  aldrig  jeg  finder 

land  jeg  kan  elske  saa  barnligt  som  dig. 

Norge,  o  Norge !  din  krans  av  smaa  minder 

bliver  et  lys  paa  min  m0rkeste  vei. 

—  Gid  i  Amerika  jeg  fattig  maa  vandre, 

gid  ingen  lykke  maa  l0fte  mig  frem, 

dersom  den  kunde  mit  sind  saa  forandre, 

at  jeg  ringeagter  mit  fattige  hjem. 


The  American  Period  501 

Many  are  the  poems  that  have  been  penned  by  Norwegian 
immigrants  in  memory  of  the  dear  land  they  forsook,  and  poets 
of  the  stock  born  and  bred  under  the  starry  flag  sing  songs  to 
Norway.  Thus,  Dr.  Knut  M.  O.  Teigen,  whose  poem  graces 
page  4  of  this  book,  was  born  here,  and  Dr.  C.  O.  Solberg, 
author  of  a  tribute,  "To  Norway,"  is  a  grandson  of  the  Ole  K. 
Nattesta  that  first  settled  Rock  County,  Wisconsin.  Listen  to 
Solberg,  who,  by  the  way,  is  as  patriotic  an  American  as  ever 
trod  United  States  soil : 

Thou  land  of  the  North,  rudely  riven  and  thrust, 
Where  the  waves  of  the  ocean  forever  will  rush; 
Whose  people  the  noise  of  the  bottomless  deep 
At  morning  awakens,  sobs  at  even  to  sleep  ! 

By  the  sheen  of  the  fjord  thou  hast  mothered  us  well, 
Where  the  croon  of  the  pine  on  our  infancy  fell; 
By  the  glint  of  the  sun  on  the  tall  mountain  crag 
Thou  has  lighted  our  youth  to.  the  high  deeds  of  eld. 

Round  the  graves  of  our  fathers  the  gray  cliffs  arise, 
And  they  shelter  the  tomb  where  the  warrior  lies, 
While  the  requiem  sung  by  the  storms  on  the  sea 
In  our  souls  unforgotten,  eternal,  shall  be. 

All  we  ask  in  the  stress  of  the  battles  that  are, 
When  a  beckoning  fate  leads  to  regions  afar, 
Is  the  dent  on  the  shield,  is  the  sword  flame  that  won, 
Ere  the  mold  over  us  as  on  them  shall  be  dun. 

Like  the  stone  that>has  sheltered  the  wild  mountain  flower, 
Whose  fragrance  and  charm  are  its  tenderest  dower, 
The  love  that  we  yield  thee  still  firmly  shall  trace, 
The  dream  thou  hast  lit  in  the  heart  of  the  race. 

O  thou  land  of  the  North,  rudely  riven  and  thrust. 
Where  the  waves  of  the  ocean  forever  shall  rush, 
Whose  people  the  noise  of  the  bottomless  deep 
At  morning   awakens,   sobs  at  even  to   sleep. 

In  similar  strain  are  the  following  national  lyrics  by  Nor- 
wegian-Americans : 

Songs  to  Norway 

Anonymous :     ''Jeg  hilser  dig  Norge" 

Askevold,  Bernt :     "Normandens   Hjemlaengsel" 

Baumann,  Julius  B. :  "Syttende  Mai" 

Melby,   Gustav:   "We  are  not  ashamed  of  our  heritage" 

Sneve,  O.  S. :  "Broder,  Bring  en  Hilsen  over" 

Solberg,  C.  K. :  "Bedstemor  Norge" 

The  Norwegians  of  America  delight  in  celebrating  the  Seven- 
teenth of  May  by  speech  and  song,  in  athletic  contests  and  games. 
It  is  Norway's  Fourth  of  July,  her  Independence  Day.  A  Two 
Rivers  local  paper  in  1899  carried  the  news  item :  "The  two  Nor- 
wegians in  town  held  a  mass  meeting,  called  for  the  purpose  of 
making  arrangements   for  the  annual  Seventeenth  of   May  Cele- 


502 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


bration  in  this  town."  These  Seventeenth  of  May  celebrations 
remind  the  Norseman  of  his  wonderful  past  as  a  free  man  and 
keys  him  up,  not  only  for  the  Fourth  of  July  celebration,  but  for 
his  daily  walk  as  a  free  American  citizen, 

Norwegian-Americans  frequently  visit  the  old  home  land  and 
bring  with  them  to  the  dear  ones  across  the  sea  greetings  such  as 
the  following  from  the  inspired  pen  of  O.  S.  Sneve: 

TO  NORWAY 


Broder !   bring  en  hilsen  over 
til  vor  faelles  gamle  mor, 
naar  du  over  vandets  vover 
styrer  nu  mot  h0ie   Nord. 
Naar  du  laegger  ut  fra  havnen. 
kommer  ut  paa  selve  "myren," 
stil  dig  forut  taet  ved  stavnen, 
utkik  hold  paa  hele  turen. 
Naar  saa  hist  i  horisonten, 
der  hvor  hav  og  himmel  m0des, 
der  hvor  morgenr0den  f0des, 
dukker  op  av  b0lgeskummet 
hvit  i  toppen,  gr0n  i  fronten, 
traeder  ind  i  himmelrummet, 
stiger  frem  i  al  sin  vaelde 
Norges  fjelde, 
graa  av  aelde, 

vil  du  da  dit  hoved  haelde, 
i  vort  sted  en  taare  faelde, 
sagte  melde. 


at  vi  stunder,  stunder,  stunder, 

gaar  og  grunder, 

sukker,  s0rger, 

ofte  sp0rger: 

Faar  vi  aldrig  mer  den  glaede, 

Norges  jordbund  at  betraede? 

Hvor  i  glade  ungdomsaar 

f0rst  vi  stammet  "Fader  vor," 

hvor  vor  0mme  mor  os  laerte : 

"B0ie  Gud  mit  unge  hjerte," 

medens  elvens  sus  i  dalen, 

bjelders  klang  og  gj0kens  galen. 

skogen,  lien, 

baekken,  stien, 

slog  sig  ned  i   fantasien, 

holder  endnu  til  derinde, 

og  som  aldrig  nogensinde 

helt  forsvinder, 

fagre  minder. 


Jim  Hill  gave  $50,000.00  to  St.  Olaf  College  and  $50,000.00 
to  Luther  College.  Dr.  Babcock  has  written  two  of  the  best  books 
about  Norwegians.  Dr.  Lenker  praises  the  Norwegians  from  the 
house-tops  in  facts  and  figures.  Babcock  and  Lenker  speak  Nor- 
wegian. Many  other  Americans  have  learned  the  language. 
Senator  Robert  Lafollette  speaks  Sogning. 


J.    N.    Lenker 
Statistician 


K.   C.   Babcock 
Professor 


J.  J.  Hill 
Railroader 


The  American  Period 


503 


19.   The  Norwegian  Home 

The  home  is  the  most  important  and  fundamental  institution 
in  society  viewed  from  almost  any  angle — language,  morals,  re- 
ligion, education,  work,  amusement,  thrift,  generosity,  ambition, 
patriotism,  etc.  God  save  the  home !  It  was  instituted  in  Paradise, 
and,  in  spite  of  man's  fall,  God  in  His  infinite  goodness  and 
wisdom  has  let  man  keep  and  maintain  this  institution  down 
through  the  ages.  The  vexing  problems  of  society  are  all  solved 
in  the  home,  particularly  the  Christian  home : 

When  Jesus   enters  meek  and  lowly, 
To  fill  the  home  with  sweetest  peace, 
When  hearts  have  felt  His  blessing  holy 
And  found  from  sin  complete  release, 
Then  light  and  calm  within  shall  reign, 
And  hearts  divided  love  again. 

The  influence  of  a  Christian  home  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
study  of  the  pastor's  home.     Luther  in  1525,  400  years  ago,  by  his 


Maren  Wasboe 

Iverson 

(1822-1924), 

Kenyon,  Minn., 

Knitting. 


Took   care   of 
Rev.   J.   A.   Bergh 

at  his  Baptism. 

Wove  him  a  carpet 

when   she  was 

100  years  old. 


marriage,  restored  to  the  consciousness  of  the  world  the  place  of 
the  home  in  society.  Since  his  day  clergymen  of  all  denominations 
except  the  Roman  Catholic  have  had  the  privilege  of  establishing 
homes,  and  their  homes  have  as  a  rule  felt  the  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity more  than  the  average  home.  What  has  been  the  result? 
The  result  has  been  that  the  parsonages  have  furnished  a  larger 
percentage  of  ministers  and  other  church  workers  than  any  other 
source.  But  that  is  not  all.  Every  general  encyclopedia  shows 
that  the  sons  of  clergymen  distinguish  themselves  relatively  in 
greater  numbers  than  men  from  any  other  profession.  Just  one 
citation — There  is  one  preacher  to  every  327  breadwinners,  but 
there  is  one  famous  preacher's  son  to  every  eight  distinguished 
Americans.  From  16  per  cent  to  20  per  cent  of  the  great  men  in 
the  world  are  preachers'  sons.  Even  among  the  millionaires  over 
30  per  cent  are  preachers'  sons.  The  reason  is  plain :  The  Christian 
instruction  and  example  of  the  home  have  left  their  impress  for 
good  and  the  fact  that  the  parsonage  is  the  center  of  a  community, 


504 


Nonvegian  People  in  America 


at  least  the  place  where  all  the  most  vital  interests  of  life  are  dis- 
cussed and  settled  right,  in  the  light  of  God's  Word,  makes  the  pas- 
tor's home,  with  all  its  poverty  and  self-denial,  the  best  place  in 
the  world  for  getting  a  start  towards  a  career  both  good  and  great. 

The  Norwegians  are  lovers  of  home.  The  divorce  problem 
does  not  really  as  yet  affect  their  lives  as  a  people.  God  forbid 
that  it  ever  should  do  so.  The  Norwegian  pioneer  dugout,  sod 
cellar  or  log  hut  was  very  primitive — one  little  room,  without  even 
a  floor  or  a  board  roof.  It  was  not  a  house,  but  it  was 
a  home.  There  Father  was  high  priest,  leading  in  prayer 
and  devotion,  and  Mother  was  prophetess,  teaching  her  young 
the  Word  of  God.  If  he  was  king  and  master,  she  was  as  truly 
queen  and  mistress. 

In  the  "Decorah  Posten,"  beginning  with  the  issue  for  Jan. 
20,  1925,  there  has  been  a  series  of  weekly  articles  on  the  Nor- 
wegian pioneer  home,  entitled  "Den  gamle  stova"  (The  Old  Liv- 
ing Room). 

The  series  is  of  remarkable  historical  and  sociological  value,  as 
each  writer  describes  his  own  home  and  the  life  that  was  lived 
there.     The  writers  of  these  articles  are : 


No.  Writer 

i.  Tolo,  T.  O. 

2.  Ristad,  D.  G. 

3.  Njus,  L.  J. 

4.  R0lvaag,   O.   E. 

5.  Braatelien,  G.  T. 

6.  Kolset,  Carl  D. 

7.  D0rrum,   I. 

8.  Knaplund,  Paul 

9.  Bredeson,  Kristjan 

10.  Oftelie,  Torkel 

11.  Kirkeberg,  O.  L. 

12.  M0st,  S.  O. 
Flotten,  Ole  J. 

13.  Jordahl,  D.  C. 


Title 

Den  Gamle 
Den  Gamle 
Den  Gamle 
Den  Gamle 
Den  Gamle 
Den  Gamle 
Den  Gamle 
Den  Gamle 
Den  Gamle 


Stova 

Stun 

Stova 

Stua 

Stua 

Stua 

Stogo 

Stuo 

Stugua 


Den  Gamle  Stoga 
Den  Gamle  Stogo 
Den  Gamle  Stuo 
Den  Gamle  Stuu 
Den  Gamle  Stuo 

14.  Grandf  0r,  Mrs.  Anna  Den  Gamle  Stova 

15.  Lien,   O.   H.  Den  Gamle  Stoga 


Bygd 

Hardanger 

Overhalden 

Sogn 

Helgeland 

Sigdal 

Opdal 

Nordland 

Sol0r 

Telemarken 

Valdres 

Nordm0re 

0sterdalen 

Nordm0re 

S0ndm0re 

Borte 


Date 

Jan. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb. 


20 
27 

3 

6 

10 

17 

-74 


March  3 
March  10 
A larch  17 
March  24 
April  7 
April  14 
April  14 
April  21 
April  28 
May       5 


One  of  the  most  beautiful  Norwegian  homes,  characteristic  of 
Norwegian  faithfulness,  is  that  of  Ole  Anderson  and  wife,  nee 
Mary  Katterud,  of  Decorah.  She  was  born  at  Pier,  Norway,  March 
22,  1837.  Came  to  Muskego  in  1842.  When  Jenny  Lind,  the 
Swedish  singer,  was  here,  she  established  scholarships  for  Scan- 
dinavians at  various  schools.  There  was  such  a  scholarship  in 
connection  with  the  Platteville  Academy.  Mary  Katterud  was 
given  that  scholarship  in  1853  and  became  a  public  school  teacher 
near  Decorah  in  1854.  Ole  Anderson  courted  this  fine,  sensible 
school  ma'am  and  they  became  engaged.     Then   the   Civil  War 


The  American  Period 


505 


broke  out  and  he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  with  rank  of  lieutenant.  He 
returned  alive,  but  a  cripple  for  life.  He  released  his  betrothed 
from  the  engagement,  but  she  felt  that  he  needed  her  now,  if  ever. 
So  they  were  married,  and  both  lived  to  a  very  ripe  old  age.  She 
died  April  23,  1918;  he  a  few  years  before  her.  Not  having  any 
children  of  their  own,  they  adopted  and  reared  two  orphan  girls. 
The  noble  mutual  life  of  Ole  Anderson  and  wife  inspired  John 


■E 

1 

^Hp^^fe^y^     4 1 

;  l! 

■     + 

L  4* 
r  | 

i 

i 

SB 

9         IP 

i 

imeL  ,..|| 

K^ 

^^^^HH^M^f 

F^P      '                        '  ""    '",      ' 

- 

^Sl».  J      w 

Grace  Before   Meat 


Hegg,  Sr.,  to  write  a  poem  in  their  honor.  Their  life  contains 
material  for  a  good  novel  or  film.  It  has  been  a  powerful  influ- 
ence in  wide-reaching  circles. 

It  can  not  exactly  be  said  of  the  Norwegian  mother,  as  it  has 
been  said  of  the  Irish,  that  she  wants  at  least  one  of  her  sons  to 
become  a  pastor.  But  there  are  cases  among  the  Norwegians 
where  several  of  the  sons  have  become  pastors.  Thus :  P.  A. 
Rasmussen  raised  up  four  sons  as  preachers ;  so  also  0sten  Han- 
son. In  the  case  of  the  merchant  Osul  Torrison,  Manitowoc, 
Wis.,  he  had  a  large  family  of  whom  one,  Isaac  B.  Torrison,  be- 
came a  pastor  (Waco,  Chicago,  Decorah)  ;  another,  Oscar  M. 
Torrison,  became  a  lawyer  and  judge  (Elbow  Lake,  Chicago),  and 
a  third,  George  A.,  became  a  physician  and  professor  of  medicine 
at  Rush  (Chicago). 


506 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


One  of  the  most  unique  Norwegian  families  is  that  of  Dr. 
Johannes  T.  Ylvisaker,  professor  of  theology  at  Luther  Seminary, 
1879-1917.  Below  is  a  picture  of  the  widow,  with  nine  of 
her   ten   children.      She   has   had   seven   sons   and   three    daugh- 


The  Johs.  T.  Ylvisaker  Family 

Nils  M.,  Lauritz  S.,  Sigurd  C,  Olaf  S. 

Gudrun  O.,   Mrs.   Kristi,   Inga  M. 

J.  Wilhelm,   Carl   B.,   Ragnvald   S. 


ters.  The  seven  sons  graduated  from  Luther  College,  and 
six  of  them  from  Luther  Seminary ;  the  three  daughters  graduated 
from  the  Lutheran  Ladies'  Seminary,  and  two  married  ministers ; 
all  the  children  have  taken  post  graduate  work;  all  have  engaged 
in  church  work.     The  names  of  the  children  are  given  herewith : 


The  American  Period  507 

THE  YLVISAKER  CHILDREN 

Year      Luther      Luther 
No.  Name  of       College  Seminary  Present    Occupation 

Birth  Graduate  Graduate 

i.tTora  L.  1878  Mrs.  Rev.  N.  A.  Larsen 

2.  Olaf  S.  1880  1899     1906  Treasurer,  St.  Paul  Hospital 

3.  Nils  M.  1882  1902     1906  Exec.  Sec'y.  Y.P.L.L. 

4.  Sigurd  C.  1884  1903     1907  Ph.D.,  Pastor,  Madison,  Wis. 

5.  Inga  Marie  1886  Mrs.  Rev.  C.  S.Thorpe,  Minneapolis 

6.  Lauritz  S.  1889  1910     1914  M.D.,  St.  Paul  Hospital  Staff 

7.  Gudrun  O.  1892  Organist,  Christ  Church,  St.  Paul 

8.  Carl  B.  1896  1917     1920  Pastor,   Northwood,    la. 

9.  Ragnvald  S.  1898  1920     Medical  Student 

10.  J.   Wilhebn      1900     1921     1925      Candidate  of  Theology 
tDeceased 

The  reader's  attention  is  called  especially  to  the  picture  of  the 
family  saying  grace  before  meat  (p.  505).  The  picture  is  a  reprint 
of  Herbjo'rn  Gausta's  painting  in  "Jul  i  Vesterheimen,"  1911.  The 
appearance  of  the  dining  room  in  the  homes  of  the  Norwegians 
has  changed.  Our  dining  rooms  are  quite  modern  and  look  ex- 
actly like  those  of  our  American  neighbors.  But  the  custom  of 
giving  thanks  before  and  after  a  meal  still  remains.  This  devo- 
tional period  may  be  quite  brief,  as,  by  the  offering  up  of  a  sim- 
ple prayer  by  one  member  of  the  family  or  all  in  unison,  or  each 
one  in  turn.  Or,  it  may  consist  of  the  reading  of  Scripture  or  out 
of  some  postil  followed  by  a  song  by  the  whole  family.  The 
writer  has  taken  part  in  such  devotions  every  day  of  his  life  and 
considers  it  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  legacies  he  received  from 
his  parents  and  one  of  the  best  contributions  that  Norway  can 
give  to  America.  America  as  such  does  not  say  grace  before 
meat,  and  apparently  wants  to  break  down  this  good  practice  of  the 
Norsemen.  On  one  occasion  Rev.  B.  J.  Muus  sat  down  at  a 
restaurant  table  to  eat.  But  first  of  all  he  said  grace.  "Do  they 
all  do  it  that  way  where  you  come  from  ?"  asked  a  bystander  mock- 
ingly.    "All  except  the  hogs,"  was  his  blunt  reply. 

Norwegian  hospitality  reaches  out  to  every  wayfarer  who  asks 
for  shelter.  Norwegian  generosity  shares  the  last  bite  of  bread 
with  the  hungry,  the  last  rag  with  the  naked. 

AMERIKA 

Amerika,  eg  takker  deg 

for  det  hpgsyn  du  gav  meg, 

for  det  frisyn  du  gav  meg! 

Eg  vil  vera  med  aa  bygja  deg 

mod  staal  i  di  jord, 

med  varde-eld  fraa  dine  tindar! 

("Dedicatum"  in  "Fraa  Audni.") 


508  Norwegian  People  in  America 

MEMBERS  CENTENNIAL  COMMITTEE 


The   Women's   Auxiliary   of   the   Norse-American   Centennial 

Mrs.  Gilbert  Guttersen  (nee  Pettersen),  Mrs.  Wm.  O.  Storlie  (nee  Nelson) 

Miss  Elisa  Pauline  Farseth,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Haugen   (nee  Norlie), 

Mrs.  Manley  Fosseen   (nee  Jorgens) 


Gisle  Bothne 
General     President 


S.  H.  Hoisted  Knut   Gjerset 

Managing    Director     Chairman  Com.  Exhibits 


The  American  Period  509 

20.    Adieu 

This  brief  story  of  the  Norwegians  in  America  must  draw  to 
a  close.  The  author  has  barely  scratched  the  surface,  and  the  soil 
is  rich  for  other  historians  to  cultivate.  The  Norwegians  have 
received  freely  from  America,  but  they  have  also  given  freely. 
They  discovered  this  land  first.  They  came  in  goodly  num- 
bers and  there  are  as  many  Norwegians  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada  as  in  Norway  itself.  They  raise  large  families. 
They  cling  to  the  soil  in  larger  measure  than  any  other  race.  They 
are  frontiersmen  and  pioneers,  brave  and  resourceful.  They  are 
honest  toilers,  often  cheated  out  of  their  rights,  but  never  dis- 
couraged. They  are  God-fearing  churchmen  and  good  citizens, 
chaste,  temperate,  conscientious,  respectful  of  law  and  order. 
They  are  sound  educators,  emphasizing  home  training  in  child- 
hood and  youth,  and  the  fear  of  the  Lord  as  the  beginning  of 
wisdom.  They  are  ennobling  writers  and  preachers  without  fear 
of  man.  They  are  zealous  foreign  missionaries  and  active  home 
missionaries,  like  Joseph  seeking  their  brethren.  They  are  large- 
hearted  charity  workers  and  hospitable  almost  to  a  fault.  They 
engage  in  a  many-sided  and  far-reaching  cooperation  and  can  teach 
all  mankind  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  and  mutual  helpfulness. 
They  are  lovers  of  home  and  invite  Jesus  to.be  their  Guest.  They 
are  staunch  defenders  of  law  and  land,  but  feel  no  shame  in 
loving  also  the  little  land  from  which  they  sprang.  They  are  men 
and  women  of  sturdy  Christian  character,  and  one  of  their  daily 
songs,  which  nearly  every  Norwegian  knows  by  heart,  is : 

On  my  heart  imprint   Thine  image, 
Blessed  Jesus,  King  of  Grace, 
That   life's   riches,    cares   and    pleasures, 
Have  no  power  Thee  to  efface. 

The  author  has  been  interested  in  this  subject  for  a  long  time. 
He  began  writing  this  book  December  1,  1924,  and  being  busy 
with  his  work  as  teacher,  he  has  been  hard  crowded  in  getting  the 
History  ready  in  time  for  the  Norse  American  Centennial.  He 
had  to  submit  the  first  draft  to  the  printer  long  before  he  saw 
the  end  of  the  book.  Naturally,  if  he  had  had  more  time  he  could 
have  readjusted  the  place  and  space  of  the  material  in  consider- 
able measure.  He  regrets  very  much  that  he  has  had  to  omit 
many  sections  of  the  book,  including  all  the  valuable  appendices 
and  bibliographies,  besides  many  photographs  and  graphs.  And 
now  that  the  book  is  ready,  he  is  reminded  of  Bj^rnstjerne  Bjo'rn- 
son's  words : 

NorroYiafolket,  det   vil    fare, 
det  vil   f0rc  kraft  til   and  re. 

(The  Norsemen  like  to  go  abroad, 
They  like  to  bring  strength  to  others). 


510 


Norwegian  People  in  America 


A  number  of  kind  friends  not  mentioned  on  page  7  should  be 
given  personal  mention  for  valuable  aid  rendered.  The  author 
wishes  at  this  belated  time  and  out-of-the-way  place  to  mention 
especially  the  following  who  assisted  him  generously : 

Theodore  C.  Blegen,  St.  Paul,  Minn. ;  A.  Ragnv.  Braeklin, 
Bergen,  Norway ;  Elias  Rasmussen,  Windom,  Minn ;  Henrietta 
C.  Pryts,  Minneapolis;  I.  Tollefsen,  Poulsbo,  Wash.;  Gilbert  O. 
Oudal,  Minneapolis ;  J.  A.  Wang,  Wittenberg,  Wis. ;  John  J. 
Wang,  Crookston,  Minn. ;  Th.  Rasmussen.  Portland,  Ore. ;  F.  L. 
Tro'nsdal,  Eau  Claire,  Wis. ;  L.  W.  Boe,  Northfield,  Minn. ;  Otto 
Hansen,  Minneapolis ;  Ulrikka  F.  Bruun,  Chicago,  111..;  Arthur 
Ager  and  J.  E.  Haugen,  Minneapolis ;  Mrs.  Frances  W.  Anderson, 
Decorah;  Carl  Teisberg,  Minneapolis;  Hjalmar  Rued  Holand. 


J.  A.  Thorsen 

Byron,    Minn. 

Pastor 


C.    F.    Hjermstad 

Red    Wing:,    Minn. 

Trustee 


H.    N.    Hendrickson 

Augsburg  Seminary 

Professor 


On  the  eve  of  the  Norse- American  Centennial  the  Norwe- 
gians are  as  happy  as  a  bride  going  to  meet  her  bridegroom. 
They  are  thankful  to  God  for  this  good  land  (Deut.  8:7-10)  and 
are  tuning  their  harps  to  sing  in  jubilee  chorus : 

Praise  to  the  Lord,  Who  doth  prosper  thy  work  and  defend  thee; 
Surely  His  goodness  and  mercy  here  daily  attend  thee ; 

Ponder  anew 

What  the  Almighty  can  do 

If  with  His  love  He  befriend  thee. 


We  close  our  book  with  a  Norwegian  Telemarking  poem  bv 
H.  B.  Kildahl,  urging  the  Norsemen  to  be  true  to  their  heritage, 
followed  by  a  poem  written  shortly  after  the  World  War,  by  J.  J. 
SkoYdalsvold,  in  which  he  thanks  the  real  heroes  who  held  the 
Norsemen's  ideals  up  before  them  in  the  heat  of  the  strife,  through 
poverty  and  want  and  to  riches  abounding. 


I   ANLEDNING   HUNDREDAARSFESTEN 

Lat  os  ikkje  forfedeme  glpyma 

Lat  os  ikkje   forfederne   gl0yma 
Under  alt   som   me   venda   og   snu ! 
For  dei  gav  os  ein  arv  til  aa  gj0ima, 
Han  er  st0rre  enn  mange  vil  tru. 

Ivar  Aasen. 


Lat  os  sjaa  paa  den  arven  me  hava, 
Um  han  er  i  den  stand   som  han  var. 
Eller  slut  daa  um  arven  aa  prala 
Til  du  blir  noko   likar  til   kar. 

Landet  vort  er  saa  stort  og  sa  megtigt, 
Mykje  rikar  enn  federnes  var, 
Men  um  arven  du  her  har  fornegtet 
Meire  fattig  er  du  daa  enn  far. 

Me  hadde  ei  stort  millom  hacnder 
Daa  til  heimen  i  vesten  me  kom ; 
Men  no  trur  eg  Amerika  kjender 
At  ei  huvud  og  hjarta  var  torn. 

For  me  gav  og  me  fekk  mykje  godt, 
Me  er  glad  at  me  kom  hid  til  landet, 
So,  at  federnes  arv  no  er  blandet 
Med  ein  rikdom,  som  her  me  har  faat. 

Skal  no  landet  av  arven  faa  nytte, 
Og  fraa  oss  ta  imot  han  med  ros. 
Daa  maa  vi  det  maal  nok  benytte 
Som  ikkje  federne  har  git  til  os. 

Lat  daa  arven  for  alting  ei  gj0ymas 
Burt  i  maalet  som  feder  os  gav. 
For  naar  maalet  med  tiden  vil  gl0ymas, 
Ja,  daa  veit  me  kor  arven  blir  av. 

Laer  daa  barna  kva  federne  gjorde, 
Alt  det  gjseve  um  deim,  som  du  kan. 
At  naar  federne  ser  att  paa  jordi. 
Dei  kan  kjenna  deim  her  i  vort  land. 

H.  B. 


KlLDAHL. 


Stick  Norse- American  Centennial  Stamps  here 


£ 


TO  OUR  REAL  HEROES 


3? 


o. 


k  brings  relic} 

In  such  an  age  as  ours- 

An  age  at  cant 

And  mock-heroic  deeds 

To  look  owund  tor  heroes 

Worthy  of  the  name 

"Not  far  we  need  to  go 

To  find  them. 

The  \orscland  preachers 

In  ow  ucstem  i<  ilds 

Haw  left  a  saga 

Wore  bright  and  fair  to  see 

Than  Minnesota's 

Indian-Summer  sties 


Some  of  you  were  at  home 
In  Qrecce  and  Rome  of  old, 
While  others  knew 
But  little  of  the  uorld 
Save  Canaan  and 
Your  name  mountains 
With  their  tales  and  fiords. 
But  all  of  you  went  out 
With  this  m  mind: 


To  serve  your  Master 

And  to  helj}  your  fellow-men. 


In  ex  cry  neighborhood 
Were  hungering  souls 
That  openly  or  secretly 
Received  your  message 
With  thankfulness  and  holy  toy. 


Hon  lonesome  and  how  sad 

The  older  ones  would  feel, 

Beeause  their  childhood  church 

Was  out  of  reach' 

And  yet  the  younger  ones 

Were  far  worse  off— 

Cut  loose  from  all  restraints 

Of  settled  life, 

Adrift  where  each  man's  will 

Was  law  unto  itself. 


To  such  you  came 

As  sating  angels  from  above, 

To  save  imperiled  souls 

Ere  they  were  lost  and  damned 


So  flood  too  deep, 

\'o  plain  too  last. 

No  sun  too  fierce. 

No  storm  too  u  ild 

When  you  set  out  to  preach 

"The  Word  of  Qod." 

Few  men  can  clearly  see 
What  you  have  done. 
Much  less  reward 
A  service  so  immense. 
But  let  me,  tho  belated, 
loin  the  host  of  those 
Who  wish  to  thank  you, 
With  hearts  aglow. 
For  what  you  did  for  us. 

And  now  I  wish  that  what 
Remains  of  me  beyond 
The  veil  of  death. 
The  wreck  of  worlds, 
The  trump  of  doom 
May  meet  and  thank  you 
Eiermore 

For  bringing  help  from  heave 
To  a  failing  soul. 


J~>J    ^€*r/«.hsU.J^ 


.0 


